Her Offered Friendship
by Reignstein
Summary: There are many journeys that Ninjas embark on. There are D, C, B, A, and S Missions and there are training journeys, correct? One never really does stop to think about the journey known as life. Well, this is the story of a girl who lives, fails, and learns as she pursues this so called journey.
1. EPISODE I: The Same Eyes

**Title: **The First Stage: Friendship  
**Posted: **10/23/12  
**Main Pairing: **Gaara & Mei (OC)**  
Rating: **T

**Summary: **There are many journeys that Ninjas embark on. There are D, C, B, A, and S Missions and there are training journeys, correct? One never really does stop to think about the journey that happens every day, you know, life. Well, this is the first part of the story of a girl who lives, learns, fails, and loves as she pursues this so called journey.

**Disclaimer: **I own what I own, nothing more, nothing less.

**© 2012, Reignstein, **The plot of this story and the original characters belong to me. Any similarities that might occur are purely coincidental and I apologize in advance if such an occurrence ever does happen.

* * *

**Friendship Arc  
EPISODE I – The Same Eyes  
Mei's P.O.V**

* * *

_It was cold outside, like always. I didn't mind though, cause I liked the cold. It didn't matter to my family if we barely had the necessities to survive, but we were all pretty happy with our current lives. To be honest, I loved our little house, just situated in the middle of a white field of snow. As a child, I am a big fan of fairytales, and this was the reason why living where snow almost never stopped was amazing. "Living in a Winter Wonderland" was how I described it to my older brother. He seemed to agree with me whole heartedly._

_My brother was seven, while I was four, when everything suddenly began to change. The snow continued to fall, pretty and gentle like it always appeared to be, and our family remained within the center of that Wonderland, but the changes weren't anything to our setting to begin with. The changes were something that only my brother and I seemed to be experiencing. If I were to speak frankly, I would even say we were both thrilled._

_There was a crack within the stream that flowed through our humble abode. The stream would usually be frozen due to the cold weather, but someone must have thrown a stone or something for a crack to suddenly appear on it. My older brother approached it with a smile, taking my hand as he lead me forward as well. There was just something about the water that called out to him, he explained to me. I guess I could relate, for the water seeping from the crack seemed to hypnotize me as well. I shrugged it off as just being part of the Country of Water. What else was a four year old to think?_

_He told me to stay put on the side of the stream as he examined the water. I sat Indian style on the snow, and my brother smiled as he ruffled my hair. According to my mother, I might have gotten genes from her side of the family due to obtaining white hair. Brother's hair was brown, and so was mother and father's. I was different with hair the color of snow seemingly flowing down from atop my head. Father always said that, that was the reason why he didn't take me out much. If I fell in the snow, he might have a hard time finding me. I would just blend right in with my pale skin and white hair. My only hope would be the brown eyes the adorned my face, he would always finish. My mother and brother would merely laugh as I pouted, annoyed._

_"Don't move from here, Mei." He told me. "Wouldn't want you getting lost in the snow." I pouted as the running gag continued, my brother giggling as he carefully walked towards the little crack of water._

_"Be careful!" I remember exclaiming as my older brother seemed to slip on the ice. I guess that was something we both had in common. We were rather clumsy, running and walking as if nothing could ever hurt us. Of course, when we tripped and began to cry, the "I told you so" from father and mother would not faze us at all. _

_"Just stay put." He answered, looking back at me with a thumbs up. A blush spread across my cheeks then. Big brother was so cute, with his long brown hair. The villagers who lived pretty near would always tease him about being a daughter rather than a son. Of course he didn't mind and just corrected them, and sometimes, I would correct them too. I would proudly say that he was my Big **Brother** not Big **Sister**. Then again, they never really stopped the teasing no matter what the both of us said._

_He bent down slightly and let his fingers feel the water. "Cold!" He exclaimed, taking his hand back and making me giggle. Of course it was cold! It was supposed to be frozen! It didn't stop him though, as his hand was suddenly submerged in the water. From where I sat, I could see the water swishing around within the small crack, and I could also see my brother's bright smile. I was very tempted to walk over, but that would just get my sibling and I into a lot of trouble._

_"Mei, look!" Big brother suddenly exclaimed, turning towards me and showing me something he deemed to be interesting. My eyes widened as a smile spread across my own face in amazement. How else would one react to their brother holding water in his hand and molding it into a beautiful snowflake?_

* * *

Looking around me, this place was so different. I was used to the cold chill of winter, the beautiful white beds of snow, and the dim sky that released no sunlight. This was something that basically took me to the opposite. Rather than cold winds were sand storms. Instead of white snow was endless amounts of sand. The sun shined through the clouds, making all people suffer from its heat. The desert was not a place for someone like me, so I could honestly not wait to get to Suna.

"Here," My guardian suddenly spoke, holding a water bottle in my direction. "I think you need this more than I do." Yuuya's wide smile and concerned eyes made me take the bottle with a soft thanks. He was doing his best to do what he could for me, but he also knew that I was not going to be an easy case. The water felt good as it ran down my throat, allowing me to feel relief for the first time since we entered the desert.

"Thank you." I say once again, handing back the bottle. Yuuya just continued to smile at me and be warm, making me remember the older brother that I had lost. I was eternally grateful for him taking me in and bringing me to his hometown, but he was nothing but a guardian to me. Family was something that I now missed and detested, so I could never look at him as the father he wanted to become.

"You know, Mei" He began talking once again, my curious brown eyes facing him with utmost interest as we walked through the sand. "I think you might like Suna." Yuuya's shoulder length black hair flew in the wind, his blue eyes showing sincerity as his continues smiles offered my heart warmth.

"Maybe" I answered, my voice sounding so empty. I was not in the mood to talk, and I made it obvious by hiding my face in the hood of my aqua colored hoody. I remembered the orphanage where Yuuya had seen me, where all the kids either had sad eyes or wide smiles. My roommate had told me of my luck for getting chosen, for having been requested to be taken home by a nice parent. I didn't really take her words to heart, but I couldn't help but recall that final conversation I had shared with her.

"A lot of kids are jealous of you, Mei-chan." She had said, braiding a strand of my shoulder length white hair. She said it would make me look cute, a small braid on the side of my face. "You've only been here for two years and you're already getting adopted. Some have been here longer." I somehow felt guilty at those words, thinking about it now. Many of the kids in that orphanage didn't even know what having a family was like, yet I was blessed to at least get to know mine. They deserved the love of people, and here I was taking that away. I would give anything to switch places with one of them, but I also know what it feels like to get hurt by the one you trust most. Perhaps I could think about saving them from that fate to lessen my guilt.

The fishnet leggings that wrapped around my legs did nothing to prevent the sand from making contact with my skin, but I had no right to complain. The hoody that reached my knees, the fishnets that reached my ankles, the long sleeves that covered my arms, the hood that covered my head, these pieces of clothing were gifts from Yuuya. "The fishnets are sturdy, and the hoody will keep your skin covered from the sun." Yuuya had explained to me, but I was just thankful for the new clothes as well. I could finally get rid of the old ones that held nothing but the horrible memories from my past.

"Yuuya-san," I called out quietly, taking a hold of his long sleeve and tugging at it to gain his attention. Immediately, he faced me with that everlasting warm smile upon his face. "Is Suna, nice?" I didn't release his sleeve as I waited for him to answer, and was rather shocked when he picked me up and decided to piggyback me. Only my older brother used to do that, and so it was reflex for me to wrap my arms around his neck and legs around his chest.

"Depends on what you mean by nice." Yuuya answered me. "Suna has the least number of population and resources amongst the five Hidden Villages, and it's very different from the place you grew up in." That really didn't offer me much comfort, but I continued to listen. "The citizens aren't all that bad, and if you don't mind sand then there really won't be much of a problem." I nodded my head slightly against his back, signaling that I understood. I guess that I would have to wait and experience it for myself to judge it properly.

"How do the people keep cool and stay safe from the Sand Storms?" Curiosity was the main trait that I often showed people, and they didn't seem to mind if the answer was within their bounds.

"You're six years old, right?" Yuuya suddenly asked, shocking me slightly. "You sure do ask pretty practical questions for a kid your age." Wasn't my fault that I was curious about a lot of things. He didn't have to answer if he didn't want to. It wasn't like I was forcing him or anything. He must have sensed my rather negative reaction to his words, for he then continued. "It's not a bad thing, but to answer your question, the buildings are made of clay."

"Clay?"

"Yep, clay and stucco to be specific." Yuuya continued. "It keeps the inside of the buildings cool, and it's sturdy so it offers protection from the Sand Storm. True, it isn't as cool as your original home, but it's not burning hot either." I nodded my head against his back once again and decided to just keep silent until we reached Suna. We didn't seem all that far anymore anyway.

I was six now, turning seven soon, and I wondered back to those times with my big brother. When he was seven, he discovered something about himself that apparently should not have existed. That skill was so beautiful to the both of us, yet it seemed our mother did not agree. I guess, judging by how father reacted, it wasn't really anything good. I wonder if I could do that too when I turn seven. Was it something only my brother had, or was I privileged to have the gift as well? Then again…perhaps cursed would be a better word to use.

My brother's brown hair and eyes, his cute and soft features, his kindness. I missed him so much, but I don't even know where he is anymore. We got separated that horrible day, and I don't know where he is now. Is he safe? Is he with another guardian like me? Is he dead? Those thoughts would always build up in my mind, and always they would cause a few tears to fall. I stopped them, the tears, though. Yuuya would just worry, and I owed it to him not to worry about me. He didn't need to know about my brother or the people I once called family.

"Yuuya!" I suddenly heard someone call, and I felt Yuuya's reaction. His muscles relaxed as he adjusted me slightly on his back, and he dashed forward. I assumed we finally arrived in Suna, and that the person guarding the gates was someone Yuuya knew. I thought of the possibility that perhaps they didn't see me on his back, but that idea was easily trashed due to the fact I felt a shadow hover over me.

"Is this her?" He asked, and Yuuya got down on one knee, motioning for me to get down. I did as expected and fixed my white locks behind my ears except for that braided strand. "Isn't she cute." The person added, and looking up, I saw a man in blue with a beige vest. He was wearing what Yuuya was wearing, so he must have been a ninja of Suna as well.

Cute? Usually, beside my brother, I was never really noticed. My brother was cute, I was pretty simple. I had the same eyes as him, yeah, but there was just something about my brother that naturally made him cute at first glance. I blushed at the compliment, due to not hearing it very often, and stood behind Yuuya. I was not pretty good with crowds, but I guess if Yuuya knew him then I didn't have much to fear, right?

"She sure is." Yuuya answered, ushering me forward. "Mei, this is Shou." The man, Shou, smiled as I looked up at him once again. His hair was a platinum blonde, but his grey eyes seemed to be in contrast with it. He was handsome, I admit, but his presence wasn't threatening. He reminded me of Yuuya, and that must have been because they were friends. Their posture, demeanor, and smiles seemed pretty much the same and I wondered if they were related. Cousins perhaps?

"Hello there, Mei." Shou said, extending his hand towards me. I extended my hand as well, and shook his hand to be polite. It wouldn't do me good to be rude, so when I pulled me hand away, I continued to look at him in a way that wasn't disrespectful or staring. "So you're the little girl my cousin—" I was right, they were cousins. "—took in, huh?" He stated. "He has good taste."

Shou winked at me, and another blush managed to appear on my face. "I'm six." I suddenly state, out of nowhere, feeling the need to defend myself. "Get closer and its statutory rape." Shou jumped back, hands up, as Yuuya laughed from behind me. I suddenly lifted my hand to cover my dangerously sharp tongued mouth, and bowed as an apology. I should really learn to think before just blurting out my thoughts.

"You tell him, Mei." Yuuya said, patting my head as he continued to release some chuckles. I stood straight from my bow and found Shou rubbing his nape as he had a small smile on his face. "Looks like she isn't so cute anymore, huh Shou?" Yuuya continued on, and Shou shook his head as a nervous chuckle escaped his mouth. It seemed that I made him uncomfortable.

"A little blunt, but still cute."

After Yuuya and Shou exchanged a few more words with each other, Yuuya lead me into the Village. It wasn't what I was expecting. There were kids playing on the street, noisy shops, and people gossiping near their homes. Houses and buildings blended in with the color of the sound, with symbols on them for you to tell which place was which. It was a bit noisy compared to the place I grew up in, but a tad bit more quiet compared to the orphanage. It was pretty overwhelming to see so much people again.

People waved at Yuuya and he returned them, while others looked at me and began to whisper amongst themselves. I didn't like the feeling. Being treated as some object, being gossiped about, probably being the intruder into their peaceful home. I was an outsider in the orphanage enough, so I would just get used to the feeling eventually again. Yuuya and Shou would be like my roommate and our caretaker. The only two real people who would talk to me. That was my thoughts on the matter, at least.

A few more minutes of walking, and we reached a structure that seemed to just have one floor. A bungalow made of clay, and it looked rather interesting. It looked oval in shape with windows on the side. The roof had what looked like a chimney, and the door was made of the same material as the building. It was different from the wood that was normally used in my old house. It did seem rather…home-y though.

"What do you think?" Yuuya asked. "This will be your home now too, you know." Home, that word seemed foreign to me. Home is where the heart is, my brother had said before, so wasn't this just a house? Seeing as I was yet to find my new home. I thought home was with family, but due to my rather odd view on the subject, I guess I still remain homeless, though not in the literal sense.

"It looks…cozy." I answer, in lack of a better word. Yuuya chuckled as he opened the door and lead me inside. The furniture was normal, made of wood and what-not. There were doors that lead to rooms and arcs that lead to the kitchen and living room. Down the hall, Yuuya lead me to a door at the end near a window. The door here was wood, and it was painted in white.

"This is your room." Yuuya told me, opening the door and revealing it to me.

My eyes widened slightly as a room was in front of me, complete with a bed, a desk, and some books. The bed was a single with blue covers, and the nightstand was to its right. The closet was placed right in front of the wall where a bookshelf stood beside it. A desk was perched in front of the window, a lamp, brush with ink, and parchment all ready for me to use. "This is all mine?" I asked, looking up at Yuuya with a rather excited tinge in my voice. I've never owned so much stuff before!

"Yep, so rest up kiddo." Yuuya answered. "I'll give you a tour around town later." I nodded my head fervently as I closed the door and explored the bookcase. There were story books for kids, study materials for ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu too. Running towards the window, I saw that I had a view of village, with happy children running around and adults talking amongst themselves. I thought about checking the bed, and layed down to find it soft and comfortable. This was something that I was not used to.

"Big Brother," I whispered. "I hope you're as lucky."

* * *

"Mari-chan!" I heard a mother shout, running after a little girl as Yuuya lead me through the Village. He's shown me the Village Library, the Academy that I would be attending, the house of the Kazekage (who was apparently the leader of Suna), and the market place. Right now we were just walking around, due to my request, and we were passing by an open field with children playing around. They were playing soccer, and I couldn't help but watch.

"Ah, Mei-chan." Yuuya suddenly said, making me turn towards him. "I have to go somewhere for awhile," He continued on. "Could you stay here and play first, I'll fetch you in a bit." To be honest, I didn't want to be left alone, but who was I to ask him of that? I nodded my head as he waved and dashed off, leaving me with the children who seemed to all be my age.

In the orphanage, I learned many things. I learned about how kids my age are not people. They are animals getting ready to target their next prey. They can be mean if they want to be, and they can be nice for benefit. Children are innocent, they say, yet they were the most cunning and dangerous things in the planet. I didn't want to approach them, for in the orphanage I only ever had one friend. I preferred to sit on the grass and watch, or maybe I preferred to just stay away after the one time I tried to join them. It ended with my being alone, and me never wanting to experience that feeling of abandonment and resent again.

Looking around, I tried to look for a spot where I could sit. There was a building nearby, with trees beside it. The field was properly seen from it, so I decided to look for a shady spot within the trees. What I found, caught my attention. There was a boy with red hair sitting on a swing set. He had a teddy bear in his hand as he watched the children all play. He was so pale that he didn't seem to belong with the people here. He was probably as pale as my hair. His free hand clutched onto the side of the swing, but the thing that took my attention away was his eyes. The cold and lonely eyes that I greeted myself with when I turned towards a mirror.

I thought of reasons as to why he wasn't joining the kids, but by the looks of it, they didn't let him join much like I wasn't allowed to. In the orphanage, no one ever came near me except for that one roommate and friend that I had. She was enough for me, but this boy, he seemed to not even have one person for him. I felt sympathy as my feet suddenly began to move on its own, making my way towards the swing set.

He didn't seem to notice me, for he was too busy staring at the kids in front of him. They were laughing, having fun, shoving it in his face that he was alone. Did I look that defeated when I watched the kids play in the orphanage, did I look that lonely? He didn't even look around anymore, cause he was that sure that no one would approach him. What did he do to deserve such treatment?

"Uhm…" I guess I really should have thought of things to say to him before heading over, cause when I spoke, he seemed to jump out of his swing and stare at me with such wide eyes. "Can I sit?" I asked, motioning to the lone swing beside him. He held onto his teddy bear tightly, as he nodded his head and kept his eyes on me. I noticed the dark circles around them and wondered if he had trouble sleeping. Not wanting to make it all the more awkward, I sat down on the swing and faced the children too.

"Why don't you play with them?" I decided to ask, knowing within myself that I already knew his answer.

"Why are you talking to me?" Deflection was the obvious give away, but I didn't push. "Why aren't you afraid of me?" He continued on, and I realized that it fear driving people away. Fear and hate. I wondered why, but I didn't want to ask him such questions.

"Should I be?" I asked him. "You're a kid like me, why should I be scared?" He seemed shocked as I turned to him again, eyes expressing confusion yet at the same time relief. "Besides, I prefer swings that soccer." I concluded for him. "More interesting people." I released a smile as best as I could, but he stared at my eyes like he could see right through me. Though I wasn't expecting him to react badly, he did say something I didn't expect.

"We have the same eyes." I stopped swinging my feet as I noticed that he realized it too. Pain, betrayal, sadness, agony, all of those were present in our mirroring eyes. Staring into empty space that we recognized. "You're like me." He added, and I did not know how to respond to him. We both faced away as we stared at the ground, not realizing that the kids in front of us were now staring at as with eyes wider than saucers.

"What is she doing?"

"Is she insane?"

"She's talking to Gaara!"

All of their words were not lost to me, and by the way the kid was twitching beside me, I guess it wasn't lost to him either. I felt blood boil in me for some reason. Judging people without knowing them, it was the worst trait in human beings. I didn't know what made people fear this kid, but I was not going to be one of them. I knew what it felt like to be alone and betrayed, and I knew that it was something I wished I didn't have to go through alone. I managed to make a friend, yet he still had none, so I decided that I would be to him what my friend was to me.

"I'm Mei Yuki." I say, extending my hand in his direction. He seemed shocked as he stared at my hand, the smile on my face being sincere and honest. "I just moved here from the Country of Water." I continue. "It's nice to meet you." I didn't know how this boy would reach out to me, but as he slowly began lifting his hand, the smile on my face grew.

He looked me in the eyes that we both seemed to share, and I realized his as a bright aqua color like my hoody. My brown ones reflected the relief to finally have someone who would understand, so when our hands met, a smile managed to spread across his face too.

"I'm Gaara."

* * *

**~ THE ALL IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE ~**

**This chapter is pretty boring, I know. You don't have to scold me about how slow it is progressing, because I know that too. This chapter is supposed to be an introduction of my Original Character: Mei Yuki! Yes, yes, I am pretty sure you already know who her big brother was just by the start, but it still keeps people on edge for I am not confirming anything until I write the chapter that does confirm it! Also, aside from Mei, Shou and Yuuya are my original characters too, so yes, I do own them. It already states above what I own and don't own, and my apologies, so I don't have to repeat that here! Hopefully now that this is all cleared up, we can move on to the real purpose of this note, which is explanation!**

**So I guess I should explain some stuff. First, the orphanage idea is something that I don't know is fitting for I don't know if the things actually exists in the anime/manga. I'm running with it anyway though cause this is, after all, FANFICTION and my take on a certain thing. If you do not approve of the idea, then you don't need to tell me in a review, for you can just stop reading rather than flame. I am not being arrogant, just stating the thoughts of all authors who get flames about being loyal to plots. Understand that sometimes, we do actually need to stray to make the story worth reading.**

**Second, obviously with her being friends with Gaara, you should be expecting a lot of Out Of Character moments from him. Don't worry, all will make sense and I am just explaining this now out of warning for those who will continue to read on to the next chapter. I realize that their meeting was slightly rushed, but I wanted to make it rather realistic, for in my experience, I make friends rather quickly by just stating something that we have in common. Also the "We have the same eyes" quote is a big hint in itself to what I was talking I about in the first paragraph in this Author's Note.**

**Finally, Shou and Yuuya were created for I have no knowledge of the Jounins and Chuunins of Sunagakure aside from Baki, the Council, Temari, Chiyo, Kankurou, and Gaara. Please bare with them. They are technically the only main original characters aside from Mei herself.**

**Expect not so frequent updates, by the way. I have a weird schedule and other stories I have to attend to. If you know of my Special A fanfic, well that one needs an update soon! **

**Now that has all been said and done, I just have three messages for you dear reader.**

**1. ****I apologize for this amazingly long Author's Note, but I just needed that to be out there.  
****2. ****I apologize for any grammatical errors, I don't have a BETA and only proofread my own work.  
****3. ****Please review your thoughts. Questions are accepted and will be answered if possible.**

**~*..*~*..*~Reignstein~*..*~*..*~**


	2. EPISODE II: Forming A Bond

**Title: **The First Stage: Friendship  
**Posted: **10/24/12  
**Main Pairing: **Gaara & Mei (OC)**  
Rating: **T

**Summary: **There are many journeys that Ninjas embark on. There are D, C, B, A, and S Missions and there are training journeys, correct? One never really does stop to think about the journey that happens every day, you know, life. Well, this is the story of a girl who lives, learns, fails, and loves as she pursues this so called journey.

**Disclaimer: **I own what I own, nothing more, nothing less.

**© 2012, Reignstein, **The plot of this story and the original characters belong to me. Any similarities that might occur are purely coincidental and I apologize in advance if such an occurrence ever does happen.

* * *

**Friendship Arc  
EPISODE II – Forming A Bond  
Mei's P.O.V**

* * *

It was my second day within Suna, and I had to say that I woke up with a feeling of excitement that morning. It was odd, at first, to wake up with the sun shining on my face, but I figured that I liked it. It was warm and very different from the cold that I experienced waking up to with my brother those years ago. The sun wasn't my only cause for joy though, the fact that I managed to actually make a friend on my first day was all too exciting too. We both even promised to meet up by the swing set again!

Getting ready that morning, fixing my hair, bathing, dressing up, and all of the other tasks, I wondered if I had the same positive effect on Gaara. Meeting someone who understood, befriending someone, it was all overwhelming in such a good way. I couldn't help but think about how Gaara was reacting to all of this too. Was he less lonely, like me? Was he smiling a lot, like me? Was he only being friends with me for the sake of having one—my hands froze in the middle of tying the braid.

Why was that thought so…painful?

Gaara was like me, wasn't he? He would be happy to have a friend no matter the person, right? Why was that thought even crossing my mind? I should have just been content with my new friend and didn't jump to any conclusion. It was an idiotic thought and I felt guilty for thinking about the red head in such a way! I even forgot about the things we talked about yesterday and just skipped to the point that he could just be using me. I should really try and break that habit, is what I tell myself as I continue to braid that strand once again.

Placing my aqua hoody over my white tank top, I head out of my room and move to the kitchen. Yuuya was already up and making breakfast. "Is there anything I can help with?" I ask eagerly, Yuuya turning to me with a gaze of utter confusion. I guess I would feel the same way too, had the timid and blunt girl I was with yesterday, suddenly turned into this nice and eager sweetheart overnight. I was in a good mood, and though Yuuya was scrutinizing my every move and twitch, I just waited for him to answer.

"You could crack and beat the eggs." Yuuya suggested, and I hopped over to the counter to do just that. Assuming which cabinets and drawers contained the things I needed, Yuuya just watched as I smiled throughout the task. I guess my humming as I beat the eggs was his breaking point, cause he took the whisk from my hand and stared at me. He was actually violating my personal space, with his face being so close to mine.

His eyes roamed my face as my smile vanished. I turned my head to the side in confusion, wondering what he wanted to say. "What happened to you?" He asked, bluntly, poking my cheek and pinching himself to prove that this was all real. Seeing as he winced at his own touch, he had no choice but to believe this was not a dream and that I was, indeed, acting like a normal child.

"Hmm?" I answered back. "A lot happened to me." I answered, baiting him. "I got adopted, I moved to a different country, different village, and I got my own room." Yuuya's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as I just let out a laugh at seeing the reaction. The laugh, itself, made his brow twitch all the more. Thinking about it now, I never really did **laugh** in front of him at all yet. Well wasn't this a day filled with firsts for my guardian.

"Mei…" He said, patience wearing thin as I let out another laugh and nodded in defeat.

"I made a friend!" I answer happily, reaching for the whisk that he took away from me. I wanted to meet up with Gaara as soon as possible, and for that to happen, I needed to eat breakfast! "Come on Yuuya-san, give me the whisk!" I whine, reaching for it as he places his palm on my forehead to hold me at bay. Stupid little kid arms!

"And who may this friend be?" Yuuya sure was nosy, how could I not have noticed that before? I usually analyze people before getting to know them, yet Yuuya managed to actually hide his nosy-ness from me. "How old is he or she? Anyone I know?" Nosy and protective, maybe it was the paternal instincts kicking in. I remember how my father acted at the mention of boys, and I despise the retched man!

"You're not making any sense, Yuuya-san." I answer, crossing my arms in front of my chest. "I don't know if they know you cause I don't know who you know." I continue. "And obviously he's my age. I already told Shou-san that I don't like the idea of pedophilia. It's disgusting." Yuuya obviously frowned at my vocabulary, but handed me the whisk as a sign of defeat. He would cease his investigation into my new friend…well, for now at least.

I beat the eggs and mixed in some salt, handing the bowl over to Yuuya when I was done. Taking my seat on the mat in front of the table, I waited for breakfast to be served. "This friend have a name?" Yuuya asked, his back facing me as he cooked the eggs. It didn't take him long to rebound from his defeat, but I guess it would be a good trait to have in a battle. Not giving up, no matter the odds, was always something to be proud of. "Maybe I know his family or something."

"His name," I begin. "is Gaara."

Of all the reactions someone could give, what Yuuya did was not one I was familiar with when it came to positive notes. Yuuya didn't smile and say **"Oh I know that boy, he's a good kid"**, in fact, his reaction would be something I linked with fear. He froze, hand holding the pan as the other the cooking utensil, as his back turned extremely stiff. I couldn't see his face, but I assumed it was as white as my hair. A grim feeling was sinking in my stomach as I guessed that his reasons would be the same as the children's reasons from yesterday.

"Ga—Gaara you say?" Yuuya asks, his voice wavering as he began to move again. The eggs were slightly burnt as he placed them on the plates, but I said nothing of it. "How did you—ugh—meet Gaara?" There was something really off about the smile he was showing me, and his pale skin was a dead giveaway that he was nervous about something. Gaara, what was so special about you?

"I approached him." I started off, wanting to see the reaction to that. I was assuming that Yuuya had a fear that Gaara was forcing me or that it was Gaara who made the first move, and so I wanted to eliminate any conclusions he could draw from that starting point. His face seemed to get some of its color back, but not all. "He was alone on the swings, and he reminded me of someone." It didn't take a genius to figure out the hidden meaning, but Yuuya still seemed uneasy about the whole thing.

"I see." Yuuya said, his voice void of any tells to his emotions. "Well, you take care of yourself, okay Mei?" He continued, and I found something hidden within those normal words of his. "Be very careful."

* * *

Sitting on the swing that I claimed yesterday afternoon, I thought back to breakfast earlier. The way Yuuya stiffened seemed exactly like how the other kids reacted when they saw me shake hands with Gaara yesterday. Yuuya was obviously trying, for my sake, to not be bothered by it, but it was so obvious to me that this friendship of mine is making him queasy. Maybe Gaara would know the reason why, but I didn't want to offend him or make him remember something that was highly unnecessary. I could ask Yuuya, but he would just probably deny everything. My thoughts were all jumbled, and I didn't like being confused.

"Mei-chan!" I heard a voice call out, making me look up from my very interesting swinging feet. A smile spread across my face as I saw Gaara running towards me, waving like there was no tomorrow. I smiled back as I waved back, just as eager to see him as I called out his name as well. His smile was so cute, I wondered if mine was nice too. Brother used to tell me I had a nice smile, but no one but him every said so.

"Gaara-kun, good morning!" I greeted him, Gaara stopping right in front of the swing I was sitting on. His red hair was bright under the sun, and he seemed worried as he hugged his teddy bear and looked around. He seemed nervous for some reason, so when he looked into my eyes, I was rather shocked to find guilt within them.

"Did I make you wait too long?" Gaara asked, eyes widening as he asked the question. "I'm sorry, it was just that I had to talk to my caretaker and convince him to let me go out so early and—"

"Don't worry, Gaara-kun." I cut him off, raising a thumbs up as I just smiled at him. I remember that, that was exactly how I was feeling when I arrived earlier. Did I make him wait too long, so he left? Was I too early? Being not used to having friends, we were both rather new to this procedure. "I wasn't waiting too long," I lied. "and if I did, it would be my fault for arriving early, right?" Relief managed to relax his features as he returned my smile and sat on the swing beside me.

We both sat in silence, swinging back and forth to just enjoy the offered company. Silence wasn't something we were both foreign to, exactly why we technically didn't know what to say to each other. Starting a conversation was not my strong point, and I guessed that it wasn't Gaara's either. Looking towards him, my eyes land on the cute teddy bear on his lap. Understand that I was desperate to come up with a topic.

"You have a cute teddy bear." I state, out of nowhere, making Gaara turn to me. "Does he have a name?" Not the best conversation topic, but better than nothing. I was really curious too though, seeing as it seemed to be his companion throughout his loneliness. That teddy bear was his equivalent of my roommate.

"I never really thought about that." Gaara answered, holding the bear and looking at it with a scrutinizing gaze. "Are you supposed to name them?" He caught me off guard with the question, and I found myself debating for an answer. All the kids with dolls and bears in the orphanage all named them something, and so I thought all people did. In the end, the only thing I could do was answer the question with my gut feeling.

"Giving them a name makes it special." I say. "I guess, it would make them seem like your friend."

"But I have you as a friend, right Mei-chan?" He countered. "So do I still have to name the teddy bear?" Again, I was at a loss for words. Why did people have to name inanimate objects anyway? Then again, why shouldn't they? I used to name the snowmen that my brother and I would make, so what makes this bear any less special.

"Cry" I say, confusing Gaara as he looked at me. "Let's name the teddy bear Cry." He looked at me with the confusion not going away, and I decided that maybe I should explain. "My brother used to tell me that if I was sad, I should look for a shoulder to cry on." I began, Gaara listening to my every word. "I had a friend who did that for me, and I'm sure that, that bear is the same for you. So let's name him Cry."

"You're weird Mei-chan." Gaara stated frankly, and I felt a blush spread across my cheeks as I turned away from him. Really, giving his bear a name was a stupid idea. What was I thinking? "But I like you." Huh? I jerked my head in his direction as I heard those words, his smile welcoming me and causing me to smile back. "And I think Cry likes you too." I couldn't help but giggle as he stated that.

"I like you and Cry too, Gaara-kun."

"Gaara-sama!" We both heard someone shout, causing us to turn away from each other and towards the voice that was calling to us. "Gaara-sama!" I noticed a man white light brown hair and blue eyes running towards us, and when I looked at Gaara, he seemed to have guilt in his eyes once again. I wondered who the man was, and I also wondered why he was addressing Gaara in such a respectful manner.

"Who's that?" I find myself asking, the man merely running towards us. Gaara, from beside me, faced down as he raised his hand to signal the man that he was there. He didn't answer my question, nor did he give any clue on who the man was. Seeing Gaara's hand, the man ran in our direction faster, and my curiosity was at its peak.

"Gaara-sama," The man said, heaving as he leaned back on the swing set. He took in a breath before continuing, and I find it annoying that he interrupted my time with Gaara. It was also a bit weird that he didn't seem to notice me, but I just stayed put and watched the scene unfold before me. "Your father has been looking for you. Skipping training does not do well with him." My eyes widened at those words. He skipped training just to meet up with me? Suddenly, I found myself the one feeling guilty.

"Yashamaru—" Gaara began, but I had already cut him off.

"I'm sorry!" I said, bowing in front of and shocking the man who was named Yashamaru. "It's my fault!" I continued on. "I didn't know Gaara had training today and told him to meet up with me today, I'm really sorry!" Silence greeted my apology, and it seemed to be due to shock. Gaara, I felt, was shocked because I defended him. I didn't quite know why Yashamaru was shocked, but I took the guess that he was shocked to find Gaara actually being with a friend.

"Mei-chan…" I heard Gaara whisper beside me, hugging Cry as I maintained my bowing stance. My friend was tugging at my hood for me to stand up straight, but I couldn't. I felt so stupid. I was so excited to have a friend that I pushed myself inside his life, not thinking that he had other things to do. Training, why didn't I even ask him if he was busy with that before planning this meeting? "I'm really sorry, please don't punish him." Gaara continued to tug at my hood, but it stopped when I felt two hands on my shoulders.

"Mei," Yashamaru's voice made me look up and find that he was kneeling in front of me with a smiling face. "Don't bow so low." He continued on, eyeing Gaara and I. "And you don't have to apologize, in fact, I think I should be thanking you." I was confused once again, but got all the more confused when Yashamaru suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Gaara wasn't making the story up," He whispered. "He really did make a friend."

"Uhm…Yeah…" I found myself saying, making Yashamaru release me from his hug. His warm smile reminded me of Yuuya, but in a different way. This man looked like a girl, and it was making me blush again. He and Shou were probably the cutest guys I've ever seen! Gaara was cute too though, but in a different way.

"Do I really have to train with Father today?" Gaara suddenly asked, causing both Mei and Yashamaru to turn towards his direction. The red head seemed rather disappointed as he bowed his head and reached out to touch my hand. I didn't pull away and just laced my fingers with him. I looked at Yashamaru with my own pair of pleading eyes, but it really wasn't up to the two of us if Gaara could stay or not. It sucked to be kids sometimes.

The blonde man watched the two of us with eyes that held nothing but amusement. His smile never left his cute face, while Gaara and I didn't let go of each other's hands. "Maybe, just this once—" He suddenly began, making huge smiles spread across both my and Gaara's face. "—since Mei-chan seems to be a good kid, and Gaara-sama hasn't really had chances to play with kids his age." Gaara and I were practically jumping up and down as the red head let go of my hand and rushed to Yashamaru and hugged the man tightly.

"Yashamaru! Thank you!" Gaara exclaimed, his arms wrapped tightly around the man's waist. Yashamaru just smiled as he patted Gaara's head and pulled away from the hug.

"Take care of yourself Gaara-sama, though I think the sand does a great job at doing that." Yashamaru winked at those words, suddenly turning to me with the same amused expression. "I'm trusting Gaara-sama into your hands, Mei-chan. Make sure that he doesn't get into trouble."

"I promise!" I answer back, Yashamaru nodding his head as he turned around and walked away.

* * *

There really weren't a lot of places to play freely within Suna. There were no woods nearby, clearings, or anything that was secluded enough to offer privacy. I was pretty sure that both Gaara and I didn't really want people judging us by watching ever move we made together. "This is a nice spot, Gaara-kun." I say, admiring the sky that could be viewed from the rooftop that we were currently on. "Thanks for sharing it with me." I continue, offering him a warm smile that he seemed to return with a slight blush on his cheeks.

"**When in a tight situation, just smile to make it better." **That was what the orphanage caretaker used to tell me when I was down. **"Smiles are contagious, so one smile from you and you just managed to make other people happy." **I used to think that those words were nothing but comforting lies, but looking at Gaara, I guess that caretaker actually did know what he was talking about. Not only was I causing Gaara to smile too, but his smiles managed to make me feel happy for making him feel happy. Kindred spirits that found each other within the harsh world of reality. It was actually quite poetic.

"You're welcome…" Gaara whispered back, the both of us continuing to look up at the clouds passing by. We've been making shapes and cloud watching for the past hour now, and we both rather liked he activity. It wasn't anything tiring, nor was it something hard. All you needed was a good imagination. Sadly, Gaara didn't seem capable of making figures with the clouds.

I would point up and say that I spotted something that looked awfully like Cry, who was tucked in Gaara's arm. He would look up too, try to identify which cloud I was referring to, and then look at me with rather saddened eyes as he states his observation. "They all look like blobs to me, Mei-chan." He would say. "They don't look like Cry or the swing set or a butterfly." He would then add, stating my previous finds.

"Don't worry," I always tried to comfort him, not wanting to break my promise to Yashamaru. "It must be the cloud's fault. Showing themselves to me, but not showing you. They're bullies that way."

"Even clouds don't like me." I jumped at his words as he suddenly turned to me with the same sad expression. "Adults, kids, animals, all of them don't like me." Gaara continued on, eyes not leaving mine as his pain bore embedded itself into my soul. "My family doesn't like me either." I guess, I could relate to him slightly there. "It's not very surprising that the clouds don't like me either." His lonely smile, his pain, why did I feel like the world was so unfair. Not just to him, but to me as well.

"Mei-chan!" Gaara suddenly exclaimed, reaching a hand out to my cheek. "You're leaking." He continued on, making me realize that fat and salty tears were running down my cheeks. It seemed that my emotions betrayed me as I turned away and began to wipe away the wetness. I hid my face away from Gaara, not wanting him to see me crying. It was so shameful on my behalf.

"I'm not crying!" I defend myself, the tears not stopping no matter how much I wiped them away. He triggered something in me that I thought vanished so long ago. I thought I would be numb to the pain of the memories by now, yet why was I crying like a baby right now? I didn't even notice Gaara's widened eyes as he suddenly released Cry from his tight grip. I didn't even realize that he had used the term 'leaking' rather than 'crying'.

A hand suddenly appeared on my shoulder, making me stiffen on the spot as Gaara spoke. "You're crying…for me?" He asked, confusion all over his voice. "Why? They don't hate you, but why are you crying?" It was a good question that I had many answers to. Maybe I shouldn't give him one, save him the pity that he would feel for me, but I think he deserved something more from the only friend he had. Out of all the reasons, only one seemed to fit the situation properly, and so, turning to him with my 'leaking' eyes, I answered.

"Because you aren't." I found myself saying. "I guess it was so sad that I wanted to cry for you. Cry for the times you were so lonely. I can't even compare to that pain, being hated by everybody." Gaara seemed to suddenly seemed to be debating something within his own mind. I didn't know what he was planning, but as his features softened again, he reached for Cry and handed him to me.

"When I cry," He explained, making me stare at the bear. "You guessed right. This teddy bear was the only thing that listened to me. Now, I'm gonna let him help you too." He continued on. "He's really soft and since you named him Cry, it's only right that you get to use him too." Though he seemed uncertain of himself, my heart filled with warmth at his actions. How could such a nice boy go through all of that? It made me all the more curious what made others hate him. "If you don't want to—"

"Thank you, Gaara-kun." I managed to say, taking Cry from his hands and hugging him too. I wonder if that was how Gaara smelled like too. It smelled like the ocean breeze, it was soothing.

The tears didn't stop, but I managed to let out a smile to comfort Gaara. He returned it as he kept his hand on my shoulder, trying his best to comfort me. I remembered back in my old home, when I would cry, my brother would always mold the water into a nice snowflake for me. It worked like as a charm, for it stopped my sobbing almost immediately, but I wished I was able to keep at least one. They were all in the old house, if it still stood there. I wished that I could do what my brother could too, so that maybe I could comfort Gaara like he used to do to me.

I felt something suddenly moving within me. It felt cold, and it felt weird. It was like drinking a glass of cold water on a warm day. You could feel it slide down your throat and move everywhere, feeling the cold flow through you with relief. That was how this felt, but instead of my stomach, it was my hand that seemed to be experiencing the cold sensation. Looking down at my tear drenched hand, my eyes widened.

"Mei-chan," Gaara asked. "What are you doing?"

My wet hand suddenly felt really cold, the wetness of my tears vanishing as slowly it froze and enveloped my hands in what seemed like a thin layer of eyes. "I don't know." I answered, the feeling disappearing as Gaara and I both stared at my hand. It looked glassy, and I had a hard time moving my fingers. It was completely coated in my frozen tears and I had no absolute no idea why.

* * *

**~ THE ALL IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE ~**

**This story is progressing rather slowly huh? Well, don't be in such a rush. This is just the first arc, and it has to be slow. We're building up a relationship after all, and I am actually not pretty good at such stuff. You know how socially awkward Gaara is? Yeah, well, my social skills when it comes to people I don't really know are the same. I've been getting better now though, since I participate in Speech Competitions. Anyways, that's not all that important! I have explanations to give! So let's begin, shall we?**

**I named the bear CRY for a very good reason. In Japanese it would be pronounced as 'KURAI' even if it was spelled as CRY. Hopefully, you all don't mind it that much. It's just the name of the teddy bear and technically isn't even an original character. Don't worry or think too deep into the name. It isn't a hint to anything.**

**As for Gaara's demeanor when it comes to Mei, again, we're talking about a SOCIALLY AWKWARD KID who has had NO FRIENDS at all. I think that he would be glad to have a friend, but he also wouldn't know to react to certain situations. As for the crying, I know that Gaara cries, but I'm sure he isn't used to the idea of other people crying for him cause sympathy was never really something he felt. As for the 'leaking' thing, I got the idea from a movie my cousin made me watch titled "AQUAMARINE". It's a story about a mermaid and it stars Sara Paxton. It's actually a pretty good movie and I recommend you watching it (though I'm not a big fan of chickflicks myself).**

**I wonder if any of you are feeling that Mei is acting too mature for a six-year-old girl. Well, much like Gaara, she had her own challenges and had to develop a rather mature state of mentality at an early age. Naruto also developed this, though he hid it with pranks and cries for attention. True strength is how they called it in the manga and the anime I suppose. Am I still making sense?**

**Expect not so frequent updates, by the way. I have a weird schedule and other stories I have to attend to. **

**Now that has all been said and done, I just have three messages for you dear reader.**

**1. I apologize for this amazingly long Author's Note, but I just needed that to be out there.  
2. ****I apologize for any grammatical errors, I don't have a BETA and only proofread my own work.  
3. ****Please review your thoughts. Questions are accepted and will be answered if possible.**

**~*..*~*..*~Reignstein~*..*~*..*~**


	3. EPISODE III: Yuki Bloodline Limit

**Title: **The First Stage: Friendship  
**Posted: **10/26/12  
**Main Pairing: **Gaara & Mei (OC)**  
Rating: **T

**Summary: **There are many journeys that Ninjas embark on. There are D, C, B, A, and S Missions and there are training journeys, correct? One never really does stop to think about the journey that happens every day, you know, life. Well, this is the story of a girl who lives, learns, fails, and loves as she pursues this so called journey.

**Disclaimer: **I own what I own, nothing more, nothing less.

**© 2012, Reignstein, **The plot of this story and the original characters belong to me. Any similarities that might occur are purely coincidental and I apologize in advance if such an occurrence ever does happen.

* * *

**Friendship Arc  
EPISODE III – Yuki Bloodline Limit  
Gaara's P.O.V**

* * *

Mei Yuki, what was with her? She wasn't afraid of me, she was the one who approached me, she seemed to understand me. Did she not know what was in me? Did she just not care? Friendship was never a term that I found myself saying often, nor was it a relationship that I possessed with anyone. The closest to one I have is Yashamaru, and I didn't think I could consider him one. I love him, he takes care of me, he's my mother's brother, and he was the only one (before Mei) who would talk to me. He was part of **family** though, he was not a **friend**.

Turning to my side, I looked out of the window as I clutched Cry close to my chest. A smile spread across my face as I remembered the rather ridiculous name that Mei had given my teddy bear. It was fitting, no doubt about it, but it was still rather odd. After all, Cry seemed like a name one would give to someone wearing a mask all the time. Perhaps an ANBU member, rather than a teddy bear. I didn't have the heart to change it though, cause for some reason, the fact that it was Mei who gave him the name made it special.

The stars that were visible in Suna were beautiful. Clutching the blanket and hiding myself within its offered warmth (desert nights are very cold after all), I couldn't help but find myself thinking back to the rooftop. The clouds may have not like me, but it seemed like the stars were just like Mei. It seemed like they were the exemption. No matter who would look at them, they would shine down without a second thought. It looked so pretty too, like jewels decorating the dark canvas known as the sky.

**"I guess it was so sad that I wanted to cry for you…"** Mei's words rang in my head, allowing me to remember the reason for my lack of sleep tonight, well at least I was pretty sure she was the reason. **"I can't even compare to that pain, being hated by everybody…" **It was the worst feeling, not just because of the hate received from them, but because of the hate you tend to develop for your own self. What boggled me, though, was what could she compare to. Obviously she couldn't know what it was to be hated by all, but she must have had her own share of horrible experiences.

We wouldn't have the same eyes if that weren't the case.

**"I just moved here from the Country of Water…" **That would explain why she didn't seem to be afraid of me. The thought of her abandoning me never came to mind, even if she found out, because I knew she would know what pain would feel like. She would just tell me her words once again, like the day we first met. People who feel pain are always connected, they don't have to physically know each other, but a single glance would allow you to realize that this particular person knew exactly what you were going through.

"You're weird, Mei." I find myself whispering once again, repeating my words. Indeed she was. The way she thought of things, the way she seemed to have that same mysterious aura round her that I carried, and the power that even she didn't seem to understand. All of these things make her the weird person that she was. These weird things that make me like her, that managed to make her my first ever friend.

The image of her frozen hand flashed in my mind once again, and the panicked, relieved, angered, and confused look that seemed to flash in her eyes within the exact same second she realized it too. Sand protected me, the sand followed my will, yet she seemed to be so confused as to why the ice appeared in hers. I have grown up with the sand always there for me, yet Mei looked like she wanted and didn't want the power that showed itself to her. Was that connected to her own form of pain?

"What do you think, Cry?" I ask the bear, holding him in front of me as he just stared at me. Of course I knew that he wouldn't answer, but I thought that maybe on the off chance I could get an idea I would try talking to the bear anyways. It's helped me in similar situations before, why should I treat this any different?

Cry just stared in the direction his head was tuned to, and following the line of vision, I wondered if the bear really did have a life of his own. The picture of my smiling mother was watching from the table where it sat. Her warm gaze, her bright smile, her beautiful face. I found myself smiling as I placed Cry on the bed and got up to walk towards the picture. "Would you have liked Mei, mom?" I asked her, tracing my finger across the glass of the frame. "I'm sure you would." I answered for myself.

For a long time, the only people whoever smiled at me were Yashamaru and this small picture. Mei was now added to that small group of people, and thinking back to that look she had when her hand seemed covered in ice was something I didn't really want to see on her again.

Placing the picture back on the table, I look out the window once again and now stare up at the full moon. What could I do to help Mei with her problem? I knew that I didn't have much on ninja skills outside of Suna, nor did I know anyone who would be willing to lend them to me. If only there was a place that I could access that had—of course! Why hadn't I thought of it sooner?

I couldn't wait till tomorrow, couldn't wait till I could tell Mei of my idea! I'm sure that she would be eager to agree, and I'm sure that she would smile at me again. Managing to set myself at ease, I laid on the bed and hugged Cry close to my chest. I knew that sleep would still be hard to come by, but at least, now, it would be a bit more easier to achieve.

* * *

Breakfast wasn't really something I looked forward to. In fact, no meal within my house was ever worth going to. They started without me, left the table even before I finished, and basically didn't care if I ate or not. I always hated showing up and being ignored, the man who conceived me just talking with his first two children. It would always be about how well Kankurou was doing with his puppeteer training or how Temari was doing with her academy studies. Never would **my** training be discussed, never would **my** hard work be acknowledged. I may as well be non-existent. Why did Yashamaru make me attend these stupid meals anyway?

"Yuuya-sensei says that I have the potential to be like Chiyo-sama!" Kankurou exclaimed, proud of his achievements. The fourth Kazekage just nodded his head in acknowledgment as now Temari began to report on her own successes. I just sat in my seat and chewed on my toast. Yashamaru was watching me from behind, his eyes never leaving me. How I wanted to just get out of there and head to Mei's house so that I could tell her about my great plan! She, at least, would give me the time of day.

Training with father was cancelled today, for he had to take care of Kazekage business, and so nothing was holding me back from spending the whole day with Mei. I had finished my toast and was just waiting for everyone else to say that they were done with their own dishes. Yashamaru, from behind me, was probably hiding a laugh at my rather impatient demeanor. Why was it that the one day I wanted these things to go faster, it seemed that they were all taking their precious time? Even unconsciously they managed to make my life far worse than it already was!

"I'm the current top of my class, even!" Temari had finished her own play by play of her studies, and so everyone finally finished their meal. The plates were cleared, one by one, and when the final dish was removed from the dining table, I stood up and dashed out of the room. I knew Yashamaru was chasing after me, but I didn't really mind all that much. I tried my best to outrun him and make it out of the house, but he caught me anyway. Why did my caretaker have to be an ANBU member?

"Gaara-sama," He said, his tone was strict and amused at the same time. "I know that you can't wait to see Mei-chan, but may I at least inquire what your plans are for today?" I was annoyed, but my uncle was merely doing his job which I could hardly blame him for. Besides, if something happened, he really did know where I was so that he could come to my aid immediately. A reasonable trade for allowing me to go my own way.

"I'm going to go to Mei-chan's house," I began, turning to him and Yashamaru releasing my arm. "Then I'm going to take her to Father's library. I want to show her something." Doubt seemed to cross Yashamaru's eyes as he looked at me with a contemplating look. I wondered why. There wasn't anything dangerous or wrong with my idea, and it wasn't going to get in the way of the Kazekage's work either. The library was open for the Kazekage's children to use, he gave us permission to improve our training.

"Perhaps showing Mei-chan something else would be a better idea." Yashamaru suggested. "The Kazekage's personal library is not a place where you should bring people freely to, Gaara-sama. It keeps the many secrets of Suna within it." I knew that, and I also knew that Mei wouldn't really care about all that. I was familiar where the elemental scrolls were, and that was all I planned for Mei and I to browse through. I had no intention of showing her treaties or anything, and besides, she was my age! What would such information be to her?

"But I want to take her to there." I answered my caretaker. "I won't show her the important stuff, Yashamaru. Just the nature manipulation scrolls." He gave an even more skeptical look as I mentioned nature manipulation, but I really shouldn't have been that specific. Now it would take even more time to get to Mei's house.

"Why would you want to show her the nature manipulation scrolls?" Yashamaru asked, and I was in no mood to answer the question with the long story of an explanation. Looking around, I searched for an opening. The front door wasn't all the far, and if I made a dash for it, I could make it. With that in mind, I took my risk and turned to run towards the door. Yashamaru seemed shocked, for by the time he had moved from his spot, I was already waving to him from the open door.

"Sorry, Yashamaru!" I call. "But I really want to show her those scrolls."

Mei had already told me where she lived, and so, getting there was not an issue for me. I didn't care much for the glares and fearful looks that I received as I ran down Gust Road and turned at the corner of Tornado Lane. From walking around Suna so much, I have managed to determine the fastest route to any place within the village. Seeing as Mei lived on Cloud Street, I ran as fast my legs could take me through the short cut that I knew all too well. Cloud Street was where the Academy was too, after all. It was a rather busy area that no one could ever miss no matter how hard they tried.

Before, I used to walk down these pathways with a weight on my shoulders. All the cold looks that I received, the fear that I sensed from the other children I passed. The adults weren't any better as they ushered their little ones into their house the moment my presence was made known. I used to be completely and utterly alone, but now I had my own friend who I could share secrets and good times with. Now if only my legs could run faster so that I could get to her house already.

Spotting the corner of Cloud Street, I turned right and narrowly avoided bumping into an old man. He seemed rather angry, but he said nothing. He might or might not have recognized me, but I didn't shoot an apology his way anyway. I ran past numerous houses, looking at each number on the door, and stopped when I saw the number that Mei had told me was her home. **"013"** was placed on the clay door, and when I caught my breath, I walked up the pathway and prepared myself to knock.

I heard the rustling of plates and the stopping of water flow, a man's voice calling out and saying "Mei, could you finish the dishes, please?" before the doorknob turned. I wasn't really thinking about how Mei's guardian would be reacting to me, so when the door was opened, I just smiled up at him. "Is Mei home?" I asked, though I already knew she was. I was being polite though, and not just calling for Mei through the door. "I was hoping that I could show her something."

This man in front of me, with the black hair and the blue eyes, seemed all too familiar. Where had I seen him before? I remember a memory of passing through the academy, but I couldn't quite put my finger on who he was. Kankurou also popped into my head, yet still I couldn't form the connection. "Ga—Gaara-sama," The man stuttered out, shocked to find me in front of his door. I didn't know if he was afraid of me or not, but seeing as he still allowed Mei to befriend me, I didn't find him as any sort of threat. "What are you doing here?" He managed to compose himself to ask.

"Is Mei home?" I asked again, trying to look past him and failing drastically. I was too short for my age, so I was glad that Mei seemed to be the same as well. She was as tall as me, and I was rather happy about that. At least I would have to look up or down at her.

"Yuuya-san who's at the—Gaara-kun?" Turning around, Yuuya faced the person who interrupted the conversation. I felt the smile on my face grow wider as I waved enthusiastically at Mei. She seemed rather shocked to see me there as well, but she smiled and waved in return. She was dressed in her usual clothes, so I was glad that I wouldn't have to wait for her to get ready before I took her to the library. "What are you doing here?" She asked the same question that her guardian had.

"I want to show you something." I answered. "I thought maybe it could help you out with, you know, yesterday." Mei's eyes widened as Yuuya seemed confused. She looked up at the man with pleading eyes, making him sigh as he nodded. Obviously they had just communicated whether or not she was allowed to go with me.

"Don't stay out too late though, Shou is coming over." Yuuya warned, Mei nodding as she dashed forward and promised to be home early. I backed her up with a reassuring nod as well, making the man sigh once again. "If I knew resisting children would be this hard, I would have reconsidered." He whispered, but Mei didn't seem fazed at all as she took my arm and turned towards me.

"What are you going to show me?" She asks, leading me down the pathway as Yuuya closed the door behind us. "How do you know that it will help me?" Mei was so eager with her words, that I couldn't find it in myself to tell her that this would **maybe** only help her. The determination in her body language was so obvious, that I wanted to be as sure as her. I tried to push the doubt out of my mind as I explained.

"Inside the Kazekage's Library, there are a lot of scrolls about techniques," I began, now leading her towards the proper direction towards the building. "I thought that if we were going to find something on your weird technique then it would be there. It's filled with a lot of knowledge regarding ninja techniques, hallucination techniques, hand to hand combat, and nature manipulation. Since you made ice, I got an idea that maybe we could both find something there if we looked through the scrolls." I was rather proud of myself for the simple explanation, but there was something that was bothering Mei. Her eyebrows were scrunching up and she was biting her lip. I vaguely remember Temari explaining something about human body language regarding these things once over dinner. How lucky I was to remember.

"It's a great idea Gaara-kun," I felt pride well up inside of me at her compliment. "But how are we supposed to get into the Kazekage's library? Are we supposed to break in or something like that? I don't think Yuuya-san would want me doing those type of things." My eyes widened at her words. I tend to forgot that she had just moved to Suna and knew nearly next to nothing about my background as I did hers.

"We don't need to break in, I have access to it." I answer, taking the slip from my pocket and handing it to her. Mei read it, eyes widening at each word, and turned to me with questions of how I acquired such a great opportunity. I wasn't quite sure how to break it to her, seeing as pretty much everyone in the village knew of my father's status, so I decided to go with the band aid approach. Quick and easy. "I'm the Kazekage's third son." I end up saying, looking at her reaction.

"Oh, that would explain—wait WHAT?!" A small chuckle managed to escape my lips as she turned towards me with even wider eyes. I could imagine her white hair standing up as her hands suddenly took hold of my shoulder to stop me from walking. She held me in place as I faced her, and it was obvious she was trying to form at least one coherent thought. "You're the Kazekage's son, and you decide to inform me of this now?!" She continued, voice rather ticked. "What if guards chase me for being disrespectful or something?! I should be calling you Gaara**-sama**, not Gaara-kun!"

My nose twitched at the honorary term, an action of disgust, as I took hold of Mei's arm and tore it away from my shoulder. "It's fine," I say. "They won't go hunting your for that reason, they don't even care." I answer, my voice lacking of the usual venom that was present when I explained the circumstances of my loneliness. Mei just managed to take all of that away. "And don't you start crying for me again, I left Cry at home!"

Mei seemed to be at a loss for words at my explanation, but she released a breath and nodded her head. A small smile erupted on her face at the mention of Cry, and I noticed that she seemed to relax again as well. "Come on, we need to get there early to not disturb anyone." Mei nods as I take hold of her hand again, the both of us beginning to run as she followed my lead. I really couldn't help but wonder why her hand just seemed to mold perfectly with mine.

* * *

Scrolls after scrolls were aligned in front of Mei and I, the both of us eagerly looking through them as we search for an answer to the dilemma at hand. We gathered every nature manipulation and ninja technique scroll that we both could find, and placed them all on the floor in a neat pile as we browsed through them. We halved the pile and took our own, thinking that it would go faster if we both looked at different scrolls rather than take the time to examine one at a time. I had enough knowledge under my sleeve, but Mei seemed to be troubled with some things that she couldn't understand. She mentioned to me that she was going to start at the academy soon, so I guessed that it was pretty normal to not know such things yet.

"Gaara-kun, what does it mean when you combine two out of the five elements to create another?" Mei's question shocked me as I turned around, seeing that her scroll was indeed about that subject. I rolled up my own scroll and crawled towards her, looking over her shoulder and scanning through it. I recognized the words, meaning that I've read it before, and began to explain to her what the subject of the piece of writing was about.

"I told you awhile ago how one ninja can master elements if it matches their chakra right?" I asked, Mei nodding her head in confirmation. "Well, that scroll is about using more than one element at the same time." Mei continued to look at me with her confused eyes, and when she had no questions, I continued. "Imagine that I can use the water element and the earth element," I began, raising my two hands as she stared at them with mild fascination. I felt like I was my father, teaching one of my siblings. It made me…happy.

"In this hand—" I moved my right hand for emphasis. "—I release the water type chakra, while on my other hand—" I now move my left. "—I release the earth type chakra. If I can control that, then I could use and combine both of those chakras to create a new element that would be wood." Mei nodded her head in understanding, and now she began to ask questions as well.

"So can any ninja do that? If they can master more than one element, would they be able to pull that off?" I shook my head as a shuffled around for a familiar scroll, crawling to my pile of unread ones once again. I had seen the scroll before and had glanced at it briefly, but now I was going to use it to explain to Mei hoe creating a new element was unique to only few people. When I found the scroll, I moved back and sat Indian style in front of her to unroll the scroll between us.

"Combining two elements is what they call the **Bloodline Limit**." I state, pointing to a name that I recognized. "Like the First Hokage, he was the one who was able to create the Wood Element. It's something that's unique only to his clan or family." Mei turned towards the name that I was pointing to and nodded her head.

"The Hokage is the head of Konoha, right? Like the Kazekage is to Suna?" I agree with her as began to browse through the different types of clans that had bloodline limits. I noticed her eyebrow raise as she landed on something that wasn't elemental, but I had told her before that I couldn't understand those quite yet either. My father was yet to explain them to me, so I myself couldn't give her any good explanation in return. When she unrolled the scroll further, curiosity obvious, her jaw fell slightly. What had she seen?

"Ga—Gaara-kun…" She whispered, turning the scroll around and pointing at a specific clan. "Look at this." My eyes traced over the clans and landed on the one that her finger was specifying. My eyes widened in return as I looked up at her, both of us finally understanding the weird technique that had caused her frozen tears. "The Yuki Clan." Mei read aloud, turning back the scroll and staring at it in disbelief.

I got on my knees and crawled beside her, reading along as she did.

**CLAN NAME: Yuki  
ORIGIN: Country of Water  
BLOODLINE LIMIT: Ice Release**

"The Ice Release is an element used by the Yuki Clan in developing their own attacks and defenses." Mei read aloud, seemingly in a daze. "It combines the elements of Water and Wind to create Ice that they are able to manipulate and mold." I continue for her, the scroll not being very specific with types of examples like the other families. It seemed like not much is known about her clan after all.

"So, this—this ice, it's a bloodline limit?" Mei asked me, and I nodded my head. According to the scroll it was, and the Kazekage Library was not a place to put mere fictional literature in. "That explains why only my brother could do it then." My white haired friend continued, sighing rather sadly at the mention of her brother. She was yet to fully explain her situation to me. How she ended up in Suna, how Yuuya had adopted her, but her brother seemed to be a big part of her previous life.

"Shouldn't you be happy, Mei?" I asked. "You come from a family with a rare power, a lot of people would be jealous of you." She smiled sadly as she turned towards me, rolling the scroll back and setting it down on the floor. She didn't look happy, but she didn't look all that sad either. It was more like the only thing she was feeling right now was confusion with a small hint of anger in her eyes. Her eyes were shifting back to the pair that the both of us shared when we first met, and I didn't understand why.

"I'm happy that I can do it too." Mei said. "But maybe I would have been happier if I couldn't."

* * *

**~ THE ALL IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE ~**

**To Death123123: Actually this is the first part of a series of stories. This story is about their childhood and the next one will be when they are pre-teens around the time of the Chuunin Examinations. I really can't get much into it, but no this is not just about their childhood. Feel free to ask anymore questions and I will try to answer them! Thank you for the encouraging review!**

**More relationship progression and a bit of background (if you could call it that) for Mei! If you didn't know from before who her brother was, then now you obviously do, right? If you don't, then either you watch the first season of the Naruto Series, or you watch the third season of the Naruto Shippuden Series. If you don't, then Narutopedia is always present. They offer a quick reply if you google the "Yuki Clan". As for this chapter, I like it. Gaara's P.O.V is interesting, and I enjoy writing him as a child with less cynical thoughts.**

**If you are all going to trash the story due to Gaara being OOC, then I just have one thing to say to you. You obviously do not know the impact of having at least ONE PERSON be your friend. It changes you sometimes, and Naruto always did say that if Gaara weren't alone he wouldn't have turned out the way he did. Of course, later on, you will notice that Gaara isn't as OOC as you think, but that will be something I will not be explaining any further due to giving away plot ideas for future Arcs! Okay, EXPLANATION TIME!**

**If you are wondering the reason why I made Mei part of the Yuki Clan, it is because it was the only clan that had a Bloodline Limit that I liked (aside from the Byakugan). Also, I liked her big brother character and there is another reason that will be explained as the story progresses that involves Gaara's Sand. Not getting into much specifics, but do you know what happens when lightning hits sand? Yeah, well, it has something to do with that.**

**Next would be why Yuuya doesn't tell Mei about what Gaara is. Obviously she's a girl who didn't have a lot of friends, so as a NORMAL HUMAN BEING who would want to tell another that the one friend they have is considered a monster by the entire village that they live in? I, for one, wouldn't mind because I like the idea of having no emotions (I aspire to be like Sai), and being friends with psycho people, but as I said, NORMAL. I don't consider myself NORMAL by the normal standards, but I am not Yuuya. I give characters their own personalities and traits that I find fitting for them. Being human with a wanting to become a father was my original thought for Yuuya.**

**I think that this chapter is a bit better than the previous one, cause there is a tinsy bit of development, but this arc is just all about their friendship and the actual plot progression starts in the next arc which I have mentioned in previous Author's Notes. Hope you don't mind the wait! Sorry this Author's Note seemed like a plain old rant. But I don't edit these and just write what comes to mind.**

**Expect not so frequent updates, by the way. I have a weird schedule and other stories I have to attend to. **

**Now that has all been said and done, I just have three messages for you dear reader.**

**1. I apologize for this amazingly long Author's Note, but I just needed that to be out there.  
2. ****I apologize for any grammatical errors, I don't have a BETA and only proofread my own work.  
3. ****Please review your thoughts. Questions are accepted and will be answered if possible.**

**~*..*~*..*~Reignstein~*..*~*..*~**


	4. EPISODE IV: Charm Of Snowflakes

**Title: **The First Stage: Friendship  
**Posted: **10/29/12  
**Main Pairing: **Gaara & Mei (OC)**  
Rating: **T

**Summary: **There are many journeys that Ninjas embark on. There are D, C, B, A, and S Missions and there are training journeys, correct? One never really does stop to think about the journey that happens every day, you know, life. Well, this is the story of a girl who lives, learns, fails, and loves as she pursues this so called journey.

**Disclaimer: **I own what I own, nothing more, nothing less.

**© 2012, Reignstein, **The plot of this story and the original characters belong to me. Any similarities that might occur are purely coincidental and I apologize in advance if such an occurrence ever does happen.

* * *

**Friendship Arc  
EPISODE IV – Charm Of Snowflakes  
Gaara's P.O.V**

* * *

The past two days, Mei and I practically buried ourselves in books. We read up on what we could about the Ice Release, and Mei was becoming eager to test out what it was that she was learning. When I would walk her home after our day of studying, I noticed how she always placed her hands together, as if molding something between her palms. Mei would always look so disappointed when she pulled them apart and found only frozen cubes or circles. I stared in awe at her skill to pick up on it easily, yet she seemed nothing but crushed. I try to comfort her, but she would just always smile and say "I'll get it right next time."

Looking out of my window at the morning sun, I released a sigh. I couldn't escape my training anymore, and Yashamaru has probably run out of excuses. I explained to Mei that the Suna Village Library might have some information, but she, too, seemed rather sad to not be spending the day with me. As mean as it may sound, that thought actually brought a smile to my lips. To be wanted and needed was a nice feeling, I convinced myself of that the moment the two of us became friends.

"Mei-chan will survive a day without you, Gaara-sama." Turning around, I find Yashamaru smiling at me. It was back to the normal routine. The family (if you could consider ourselves a family) would always have breakfast, Temari and Kankurou would then head to the academy, while I would go to my room to rest. Yashamaru would then arrive to pick me up and take me to my father for my own personal training. "Besides, you haven't trained in awhile. It might be good for you." My caretaker added.

"Reading in the Kazekage's Library is like training." I answer back, closing my window and following Yashamaru out of my bedroom door. "It helps me learn what I can't from the academy and it holds techniques and history. Mental training is what father called it." Yashamaru merely chuckled at my weak attempt to defend myself, but he said nothing to contrast the idea. The both of us just remained silent and walked, eventually making our way out of the house and into the streets of Suna. I trained where my father needed to be, everything always had to be for his convenience. Even my own father treated my unfairly.

This was the worst part about walking within the village walls. Mei managed to alleviate some of the pain when she walked with me, always smiling and talking with no care in the world. She was doing what the others didn't do. Looking at me fairly and with no bias at all, I thank her for that. Yashamaru was the same, always seeing the good in me and never the monster. The villagers/citizens though, they all spotted me and scowled. Fear would cross their eyes, disgust as well, and then I could practically feel the hate radiate from them. The stares were enough to make me want to lock myself in my room, the whispers made me want to jump over the edge.

"Cheer up Gaara-sama!" Yashamaru stated, placing an arm on my shoulder as he smiled at me. "The faster you get your training over with, the faster you can meet up with Mei-chan right? So you should give it your all today!" His words managed to plaster a small smile upon my own face. My caretaker was right as always. Two people who liked me were enough to replace the millions that despised me.

Today, my father decided that my training would be conducted within the family dojo. It was the most used area where we trained, the outskirts of Suna being another. I wondered what technique he wanted to teach me now, and I wondered if he would at least mention my improvement. "Can't Mei-chan train with me too?" I asked without thinking, Yashamaru releasing a laugh as he shook his head and began to explain. He would begin with how I was the Kazekage's son and that was the reason he trained me himself. Later, he would add that my father would not welcome the idea of training Mei either.

In the middle of Yashamaru's rant, I heard a faint noise coming from behind me. I ignored it, of course, focusing on the walkway ahead. It was normal for people to be calling for each other, especially when it was children looking for their parents. "—Ara-kun!" That made Gaara raise a brow though. Ara was a girl's name, why would another girl put –kun as a term of endearment? How weird.

"GAARA-KUN!" That made me head snap up and my body turn. "Gaara-kun! Yashamaru-san!" Hearing his name, Yashamaru stopped from his rant of an explanation and turned around too. Either shock or happiness engulfed me, but I couldn't believe the sight that greeted me. White hair was bouncing, brown eyes were wide, chest heaving due to running. Mei was trying, eagerly, to catch up with Yashamaru and I. She was waving her hands and calling our names, and I turned red at the realization that this 'Ara-kun' was actually 'Gaara-kun'.

"Mei-chan," I managed to let out, the white haired girl stopping in front of me. She was bent forward, hands on her knees as she tried to regain her normal breathing pattern. "What are you doing here? I told you that I had training today." Mei raised a finger (signaling for me to wait a bit) as Yashamaru watched the exchange happen between us. We both waited for her to compose herself, and when Mei was standing straight again, she was looking straight at Yashamaru rather than me. That was…uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry for disturbing, but can I please talk to Gaara-kun for awhile." Mei stuck her hands together (as if she were praying) and looked up at Yashamaru with wide eyes. "I won't keep him long, you can trust me, right? Yashamaru-san?" My caretaker may not say it out loud, but it was obvious by the way he looked at me friend that he honestly didn't mind. He was rather happy that she was my friend, a kind girl, a good girl, was how he described her. A pretty girl, he had said once. That one had caused me to suddenly go red for some reason. Perhaps I was running a slight fever.

"Hmm…" Yashamaru answered, placing a finger under his chin. "I don't know Mei-chan, Gaara-sama has a pretty busy schedule today. I don't even think he has time for you." Yashamaru was trying hard not to chuckle, Mei suddenly sending a glare in my direction. I, in turn, sent my own glare at my caretaker who then released the held back laugh. What was he doing? Trying to get me in trouble with Mei!

"So you're too good for me now, Gaara-kun?" Mei suddenly asked, crossing her arms.

"No, no, no, Yashamaru was just joking around!" I raised my hand in defense, Yashamaru just laughing from beside me. This man, really, trying to make me lose the one friend I had. He didn't mean it, but it didn't mean the thought didn't scare me. I didn't want to be alone again, not after experiencing the joy of having a companion to stand beside me. "Of course I'll make time for you!" I added, in a panic.

"Spoken like a true gentleman, Gaara-sama." Yashamaru suddenly cut in. "I feel so proud, you're growing up so fast. Soon enough there will be red haired babies with brown eyes!" I watched as Mei blushed at Yashamaru's words, me following suit as I realized what my nosy caretaker was implying. "Remember Gaara-sama," He started up again. "Always take care of a lady, never hurt them, never piss them off during their—"

"You know what, Gaara-kun, I think I'll talk to you later!" Mei suddenly exclaimed, cutting Yashamaru off. "Meet me in the library if you finish early, or just come to my house if it's too late." Turning around, she just waved goodbye before dashing off. My heart sunk slightly at her retreating frame, causing me to glare at the source of the problem. My caretaker, the sandy brown haired man that he was, just chuckled as he turned me around and lead me towards the dojo once again.

"Mei-chan is so cute…" Yashamaru stated.

"You did that on purpose." I blurt out, crossing my own arms in front of my chest in annoyance. "Now I don't know what Mei-chan wanted to tell me." Another laugh escaped the man's lips, his hand settling on my shoulders as the doors of the dojo now came into view. Great, how could I focus with curiosity running around my brain like a ticking time bomb? Thanks a lot Yashamaru.

* * *

Consider this a warning to those who plan on invading Suna: Just. Don't. My breathing was ragged and troubled, my stance was horrible, exhaustion was obvious on my face. My father did not hit me (not that he would ever land one), but his ruthless way of training was enough to make anyone tired. The numerous amounts of stances, the speed he wanted me to achieve with my hand signs, how he always kept testing the sand that protected me. My chakra level was high for a normal human being, but it didn't mean I was immortal. I still managed to to get exhausted, and I do get sick. I just never get hurt.

The Fourth Kazekage was not a man that you wanted to mess with, especially if you were on the bad side of his list of people. People of Suna feared and respected him, there was a reason why he was currently the strongest Ninja in our land. The reminder always attacked me each time these training sessions happened. Technically speaking, I guess he was never 'father' to me. He was my leader and my teacher, probably nothing more.

"Gaara, your movements are too slow." The scolded, and I was tempted to shout in his face. Too slow? How about you go through seven hours of training with NO BREAK whatsoever, not even a short BREATHER. The fact that I was still moving was impressive, yet still the old man would not compliment me, He was still unsatisfied with my current strength, speed, stamina, to put it simply he just DID NOT like me. Everything that has gone wrong in my life is all HIS fault, yet still he seemed unsatisfied.

"Watch your feet." He continued on, causing me to suddenly jump into the air to avoid whatever trick he was planning on the floor. I was shocked, though, when I found him above me. His hand was balled into a fist, and just as he was about to strike me, the sand came out from the gourd behind my back and protected. It's been awhile since I've worn the gourd (seeing as I didn't want Mei to keep asking about it), but it always gave me such great comfort to have it behind me.

"You're too gullible." Complain, complain, complain, he was just angering me all the more. I respected him, was it too much to ask that he respect me in return? He didn't have to love me as he did Kankurou and Temari, but couldn't he at least show that I matter? "Now you're too distracted." He was at my side now, but the sand protected me from any hits, allowing me to get away almost immediately. My breathing was more ragged than before, my chest rising and falling hardly. I was way past the line of exhaustion.

"If this is the effect friendship has on you, then I suggest you forget about forming any." My father was heartless when it came to me, judgmental and cruel to add. I was used to everything and anything coming out of his mouth, but that particular statement caused every single fiber of my being to go cold. This man who I considered nothing more than the other part of my conception was telling me to get rid of the one and only person who was willing to care? "Don't look so shocked, you know that she was only getting close to you for power. If you weren't so gullible then maybe you would have faced the truth the moment she approached you." This despicable man.

"She doesn't even know what I am, what you made me." My voice was colder than I ever heard before. I felt my chakra go haywire inside me, rage building and building like a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. My face was void of all emotion as I looked the Kazekage in the eye. "Unlike you, she cares about me." All that greeted the response was cold, cruel, laughter.

"Care? You?" The laughter continued. "She could be lying, she's just using you. You are a weakling despite your power. To believe that anyone would look at you as more than a monster is wishful thinking. This friend of yours will just leave you the moment she obtains what she desires, and you will be left with nothing. You should find yourself lucky that I am even warning you of such an occurrence, I find it a good lesson for you to learn from experience." He actually thought that he was doing me a favor? Acting like a father? What's next? He'll take even Yashamaru away? The sand within the gourd began to stir and move, my emotions adding to my nearly uncontrollable chakra. To a degree, I wished that he would be killed.

"You. Know. Nothing." Had I possessed Mei's skills, perhaps anything would have turned to ice at my voice. "All you did was make my life a living hell, now you're going to make me LEAVE the person who makes this hell bearable? Doing me a favor? You're just doing what you always do. Tossing aside all things relevant to me." The chakra was beginning to go wild, and I knew that anytime soon I would implode. He didn't seem to notice though, for he only glared at me, watching and scrutinizing every twitch that my body made.

"Let's say that she does, actually, care for you." She DOES care for me. I terribly wanted to say. "What do you think being friends with you will do for her? She'll be detested by others, she'd be an outcast, and all of this just because she merely speaks to you. You could survive having only one friend, but can you take that luxury away from her? Will you be responsible for her misery?" This despicable man, though I hated him, had a point. Doubt, anger, the feeling of being utterly alone. Why couldn't he just leave me alone and stick to training, why did he decide to talk the one time I didn't want him to?!

"Then again, who's to say?" Shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP! My brain was practically chanting. "You could just get angry one day, go ballistic, and the next thing you know this Mei of yours is six feet under the ground. The only memory of her existence would the the headstone sticking out of the ground." The mention of Mei dying, the mention of **me** killing her, that was probably the one thing that sent me over the edge.

A loud angered cry was heard within the dojo, and the next thing I knew, the horrible man in front of me was being attacked by the sand behind me. I was practically seeing red, the thought of him being the Kazekage, a strong ninja, and my father practically flying out of the window. "YOU'RE LYING!" I shout, my hand extending forward, slightly closing into a fist. I saw his panicked eyes, and I felt happiness crawl from the pit of my stomach. Experience the fear that I could bring, experience what you make me go through. I had no idea if a smile was curling on my face. Before I could finish the job and break a few of the bones belonging to the man in front of me, though, a hand clutched my wrist.

"Gaara-sama, please stop!" Yashamaru's voice snapped me out of my stupor, the tears now falling from my eyes as I dropped my arm. The sand retreated from the Kazekage's body and back into the gourd. Looking at my caretaker, he didn't seem angry at me, but I found it hard to read his expression too. My father, on the other hand, was looking at me with a horrible smirk adorning his face. I knew what it meant, and I refused to believe he was right. He was rubbing it in my face that I had lost control, that if I could do it to his own flesh and blood, then I could do it to Mei too. He. Was. Wrong.

I didn't look at this man as if he was family anymore. I didn't even view my siblings as siblings. My only family amongst these people was Yashamaru. I even cared for Mei more than any of the three others that were my own kin. "Can I be excused?" I find myself asking, the tears pouring out as I face the floor and turn away from the eyes that were directed at me. When I didn't hear any form of confirmation or negation, I just turned around and walked out of the dojo.

* * *

I walked aimlessly through the streets of Suna, not bothering whether or not I bumped into people or not. For once in my life, I was thankful that people didn't care enough to ask. I had no desire to talk to anyone, which was exactly why I dashed out of the dojo before Yashamaru could get a word in. Time alone was something I despised, but I suddenly felt myself in need of it. Thinking should be done when there are no distractions, so I plan to do just that. Go to my swing, sit on it, and just think about everything, anything, and at the same time, nothing.

**"You could just get angry one day, go ballistic, and the next thing you know this Mei of yours is six feet under the ground." **That sentence kept echoing around the walls of my mind, followed immediately by my sudden desperate need to kill the horrid man who had said them. Why was it that when I knew I did it because I wanted him to shut up and leave me alone, I still couldn't get that smirk of his out of my head too? **'I Told You So'** was the message of it, and I knew better than to believe anything that bastard says.

I wondered why the walk to my swing was taking so long. I've been to that over a thousand times that my mind practically has it on autopilot. I didn't need to pay attention to where I was going and I would just wound up there. I thought today would be no different, but when I actually did decide to look around, I was shocked to find myself standing in front of the city library.

I growled at first, wondering what on earth was I doing there. Normally, I would jump at the chance to spend some time with Mei, but today was different. Seeing her would just make me imagine all of the things that he pointed out, make me think of the people hating her too, and to maybe think of the fact that she could end up hating me too. Where were the words I had thrown at my father now? I should believe in what I say, right? Then why was I doubting everything? Why was I listening to his words that I considered non-sense only moments ago.

To be honest, I have no idea what came over me to walk towards the window of the building.

Inside, walls were lined with with books and scrolls. Knowledge filled the entire space, no corner being left empty. Comfortable chairs were set for people to use, tables being present as well. Looking around, I found just a few people inside, the librarian sitting on her desk at the end of the center aisle. Mei, with her white her, was pretty easy to spot. She was in the far left corner, sitting on a chair with scrolls beside her and a book opened in front of her. Beside her was a black haired girl with green eyes. She possessed skin with a peaches and cream complexion as well They both seemed to be doing separate works, not even glancing at the person beside them.

I watched as Mei flipped to the next page of what she was reading. She seemed so immersed in it that even a fire couldn't drag her away from said book. I was just about to turn away and leave her be, but for some reason, she looked up and found me looking at her from the window. Closing the book in front of her, she smiled and waved at me. Mei was signaling me to wait for her.

She picked up the scrolls and I wondered why I didn't just leave. She borrowed the book she was reading from the library, and I just kept an asking myself why I followed her request and stayed. I had originally planned to be alone and think, yet the mere sight of her seemed to have changed my mind. "So you're finished with your training for today?" Mei's voice penetrated my hearing range, making me turn towards the door and watch her emerge from it. She seemed glad to see me. "That's good, I wanted to show you something!"

Her smile was contagious, cause soon enough I found myself smiling back. "What is it?" I asked curiously, but she raised her brow at me. She looked at me like an unsolved puzzle, and it made me a bit wary. Had she detected something wrong? Did that girl in the library not mind her because Mei had mentioned me? Was Mei beginning to detest me, much like the bastard said? I found myself panicking in my head. I was beginning to get paranoid by my father's stupid words, and yet all it took for it to go away was for Mei to suddenly clasp my hand.

No words were shared as she suddenly began pulling me in the direction of a familiar building. Mei led me up the stairs and opened the door to reveal the rooftop where I first took her to. What were we doing here? "Did something happen with your dad?" What?! How could she have known about that? Had my father ordered the ANBU to talk to her? Was he going to find a way to make her hate me? "Gaara-kun, your eyes are cold again. What happened?" My…eyes…?

**"We have the same eyes." **I found my familiar words ringing in my head. **"You're like me." **Mei, indeed, was sharp. I forgot how she, much like me, had suffered in her own way. The both of us have never shared anything personal, not wanting to touch still open wounds, but we both came up with an understanding that we knew what pain felt like. What it meant to have hatred, anger, agony, sadness, and numbness pent up inside of you with no form of release. Of course she would find out something was wrong.

She could tell by my change in eyes that something had happened, the same way I could tell when she bit her lip every time I picked her up from her house that there was something bothering her. Each tell tale we could see, all because we've experienced ourselves what reactions would occur to a particular incident. "Gaara-kun, what happened during your training? You're worrying me." Worry, she and Yashamaru were the only ones to worry.

"I…He…just…I don't even know." It was partially true. I knew that I didn't believe my father, yet I also knew there were truth to some of his words. I was conflicted on how to feel, and I honestly did not want to talk to the cause of all of this. Mei seemed to notice this, for she released my hand and took in a sigh.

Mei dug in her pockets for something, and I wondered what she was upped to. "I was going to show you something, remember?" She stated, smiling slightly as her hands came out with a small container of water. "And since you don't want to talk about it, then as your friend, it is my duty to cheer you up!" Again, the smile was contagious, and I watched as she poured the water in her hands.

"What are you—"

"Just watch, I learned something from the library."

She covered the palm of her right hand with the left. A blue glow suddenly began to emerge from her hands, obvious that she was using chakra. "I told you about my brother before right?" She asked, making me nod. "Well this was how my brother always got me to feel better." I continued to watch as sweat dripped from her forehead in concentration. She wasn't used to have to control chakra yet, but she must be smart if she managed to learn all of this from scrolls and books.

"There," Mei managed to let out, smiling as she wiped the sweat on her forehead with her sleeve. Opening her palms, she looked in and smiled at her success. "I don't know if it would do the same for you, but this is the only thing I could do." She held out the palm of her hand to me and on it I found that she had been practicing her bloodline limit. The ice was molded into the shape of a wonderful snowflake, but there was a circle on top of it. Was it a charm? Looking up at her, she noticed my confusion.

"It's for your gourd." She said, pointing behind me. "You can hang this there, it won't melt, I tried." Mei reassured me. "This way, you'll know that no matter what happens and where we are, you got me for support." I stretched out my fingers and took hold of the snowflake, smiling slightly as I look up at her. Maybe Mei had a different sort of magical power. All my doubts from before all managed to disappear in an instant.

"Thanks, Mei-chan." I answer, placing the charm near the cover of my gourd.

"What are friends for, right?" She answered, and I nodded my head in agreement.

* * *

**~ THE ALL IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE ~**

**To Death123123: Things will begin developing a bit faster now. I just wanted it to be slow so that people will get the feel of their relationship. As for the story length it's explained in this Author's Note as well. As for the Ice Release, to be honest, I only ever planned of giving her one of Haku's attacks. I created Mei without the speed that Haku possessed for the Ice Dome. I'm going to get creative and give Mei her own signiture way of fighting. Thanks for the enthusiastic questions! The reviews too!**

**ON THIS NOTE! I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED AND FAVOURITED SO FAR! THERE AREN'T A LOT BUT I DON'T REALLY MIND! DOMO ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU MINA-SAN!**

**And here it is, the final part of the first arc! The story will progress a bit faster starting the next Arc which you will have to wait for! You notice I made a bit of the old Gaara show here, making him interested in death and all of that. I don't forget that he is unstable, I just make him appear less than what he was. You'll all understand when we reach either the third or fourth arc, cause I'm not sure if I want this story to go past three. As for the girl in with Mei in the library, yes she is an OC and will be playing a bit of a major role in the next Arc. Actually, there's quite a surprise waiting for you there, but for now, we are on to the explanations!**

**I KNOW RIGHT? GAARA'S DAD IS SUCH A BASTARD IN THIS STORY…there's a reason for that. To be honest, I truly believe this was how Gaara was treated. I mean, he barely thought of Temari and Kankurou as siblings until after the Chuunin Exam! Let alone this man who wanted him assassinated. And if you watched the Shippuden Episode with the KAGE SUMMIT then it's obvious that he cares very little for his father's legacy.**

**Yashamaru is currently my favourite character in this fic, why? He's acting like the fun uncle that all the people wish they had. I think that since he truly did care for Gaara, then he would act like that on a normal basis right? As for Temari and Kankurou, they'll make a much more major role in the next ARC as well. A lot of the progression is in the next Arc, so please wait patiently for it. Things like Mei's past could be revealed for all you know, and you just might come across an OC that isn't an OC. You'll all see what I mean…or not. Depends how sharp you are when it comes to character description.**

**Expect not so frequent updates, by the way. I have a weird schedule and other stories I have to attend to. The frequent ones this week is due to my free time! Anyways, i'm going to be in a place with no internet for the next week or so and will be an able to post anything. Luckily the first part of this story is done. NOT THE STORY ITSELF! No, no, no, this is just one arc. **

**Now that has all been said and done, I just have three messages for you dear reader.**

**1. I apologize for this amazingly long Author's Note, but I just needed that to be out there.  
2. ****I apologize for any grammatical errors, I don't have a BETA and only proofread my own work.  
3. ****Please review your thoughts. Questions are accepted and will be answered if possible.**

**~*..*~*..*~Reignstein~*..*~*..*~**


	5. EPISODE V: Weirdest Of Classmates

**Title: **The First Stage: Friendship  
**Posted: **11/05/12  
**Main Pairing: **Gaara & Mei (OC)**  
Rating: **T

**Summary: **There are many journeys that Ninjas embark on. There are D, C, B, A, and S Missions and there are training journeys, correct? One never really does stop to think about the journey that happens every day, you know, life. Well, this is the story of a girl who lives, learns, fails, and loves as she pursues this so called journey.

**Disclaimer: **I own what I own, nothing more, nothing less.

**© 2012, Reignstein, **The plot of this story and the original characters belong to me. Any similarities that might occur are purely coincidental and I apologize in advance if such an occurrence ever does happen.

* * *

**Academy Arc  
EPISODE V – Weirdest Of Classmates  
Mei's P.O.V**

* * *

_I layed on the bed of snow, looking up the cloudy sky and watched as the beautiful snowflakes fell. I didn't care that my back was freezing, I didn't care about getting lost, all I cared about was the beautiful snowflakes fluttering towards the ground and joining the others that already surrounded me. I had a very special snowflake of my own, wrapped safely around my neck. It was a gift from my big brother, one of the very few treasures that I possessed. Big brother always did know how to make anything important to me._

_"Mei!" I heard him calling out, the door's closing echoing in my ears. Looks like my snow-gazing was over for the day. Big Brother never did like me staying out in the snow for so long. We were still human. Our family had a very strong resistance to the cold around us, but we weren't immune. Freezing to death was still an option when one of us stayed out for so long. "Akiyama Mei!" I scrunched my nose at the name. I didn't like my father's last name very much, preferring to have my mother's maiden one. Of course I couldn't say that out loud, though. Father would get all upset and claim, jokingly, that I no longer loved him._

_"Haku-nii!" I shouted back, allowing him to hear and figure out where I was. To be honest, I was not very far from the house at all. It was probably just harder to find me due to the fact that I was probably a snow child. With the features I possessed, there really was no questioning why it would be easy to lose me in a snow storm. _

_I watched as brown hair and brown eyes emerged, my brother jogging up to where I spread out and decided to make a snow angel. "You know, you worry mom way too much." Big Brother stated, taking a seat beside me and looking down to catch my eyes. "You're her baby, you should at least spend some time with her." I refused to do as he said. I was still infuriated with the woman for what she did, annoyed that though she claimed to love us, she was so willing to hurt Big Brother the other day._

_"I don't want to talk to her." I answer back, stopping my snow angel movement and crossing my arms in front of my chest. "You shouldn't talk to her either." Big Brother just sighed and decided to lay down beside me, lifting my head so that he could put his arm under it. His embrace was always so warm, his smile was always so bright, yet at the same time, he made the cold, cold snow all the more beautiful. I adored him, my perfect big brother._

_My head was placed within the crook of his neck, his hand on my shoulder. Silence was calming while it lasted, but I knew that he would be making up reasons for our mother soon enough. "She didn't mean to." He would say, the red mark on his cheek being a bit too red for it to be an accident. "It's probably my fault anyway, I shouldn't have shown her something like that without warning." He loved her so much that he defended her, but I still didn't want to listen. She hurt Big Brother, if wouldn't be mad at her then I would willingly and gladly take his place._

_"Give mom a break," Big Brother began, making me shut my eyes and hoping that my ears would follow. "It was the first time she ever did anything like that and—"_

_"Yeah, yeah, Mom can do no wrong in your eyes, right Haku-nii?" I cut him off, neither opening my eyes or adding any malice in my words. It sounded rather stoic, if I say so myself. "It was your fault, you were in the wrong, my reasons are justified but I just don't understand. One of those was about to come out of your mouth right?" I still made no move to sit up or get angry. I was in no mood to fight. I was getting sleepy._

_I felt Big Brother tense up a little, but he relaxed soon after. "How many times have I given you this talk." I answered that I had lost count after the first four, and I was telling the truth. I tended to block out the following sermons that he had ready for me. He didn't know how to hold a proper grudge, he was nice that way, but I was ten times more stubborn, five times meaner, and a hundred times colder. _

_It was often that I held his grudges for him and he would tell me countless times that it was not a burden that I should bare just because he chose not to. I would nod at his words, but it would happen all over again anyway. This time, I decided that doing as he told me would be a mere futile effort on my part._

_"Haku! Mei!" Speaking of the she-devil. Her voice made Big Brother jump, lifting me into his arms as he began to carry me towards the general direction of the house. "Where are you too? Supper is about to be served!" Big Brother did not mind my arguments and efforts to get him to drop me. He was determined to bring me back home and set our mother at ease. _

_"Come on, Mei." Big Brother teased, knowing full well that he was stronger than me. "How many snowflakes is it going to take for you to at least talk to Mother again?" A tempting offer, I had to admit. He knew, very well, that I loved the different snowflakes that he made me. The very first one he ever made was around my neck right now as proof of how much I loved them._

_"Four" I answer. "With for snowflakes I'll at least greet her a 'Good Morning' everyday." Big Brother laughed at my words as he nodded vigorously and ran towards the house._

* * *

Platinum blonde hair, grey eyes, small hoop earring on his left ear, every single female whispering as he passed by. I cursed Yuuya to the pits of hell as I walked, hand in hand, with Shou to experience my first day within the ninja academy walls. "Why are you the one walking me to school?" I've known Shou close to a month now, and though at first I assumed that he was a bit of a child molester, turns out he was nothing but a bit of a child himself. He was cheery, optimistic, and scared of heights. He also, apparently, is one of the best jounins within Suna. Where has the logic of the world gone?

"Yuuya had to leave early." I, at least, was lucky enough to not have my guardian for a homeroom teacher. He taught the older students, and he seemed a bit disappointed that I would not be under his care. "Don't you know what a lucky little lady you are? A lot of girls would be happy to be holding my hand you know." I was tempted to freeze the sweat on Shou's hand to just annoy him, but I didn't want to waste any of my energy. I had to actually get used to the Ice Release first. Big Brother always made it look so easy.

"I already told you what I thought about you being so close when we first met."

**"Get closer and its statutory rape." **The words repeated themselves in my head, and as I saw Shou laugh slightly, I assumed that he remembered the same words as well. "Your opinion of me is very shallow, Mei-chan." He stated, suddenly pulling me up with my arm and placing me on his back. He was fast as he managed to wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. "I should do something to change that."

"What are you—" Shou suddenly pushed off from the ground, landing swiftly on the nearest roof. He merely chuckled as I held on tighter, and I wondered why he was freely jumping on roofs if he was afraid of heights. His speed was insane as I tried to look behind, dust entering my eye as he literally left a trail of it in his wake. Tears pooled at the corners of my eyes, and I turned again, not looking down. We were a good fifteen feet off of the ground. "I thought you were afraid of heights?!" I questioned, right into his ear, as I tightened my hold once again. I was so afraid that I would fall.

"What height?" Shou asked me. "If you don't look down, then who's to say we're at a height?" My surrogate uncle spoke of the truth. Jumping through buildings was a lot like hopping over the next step on a staircase. As long as you don't look down, there really is nothing that would make you believe that you were said feet off of the ground. This is the first time that I actually thought that he deserved the title of being one of the top shinobis in Suna. "You know, Mei, take this as your first Shinobi lesson. Fear is like a genjutsu. You can cancel it out if you have the will."

"That's…" I found myself answering. "…actually good advice." Shou laughed at me as we landed on the roof of the academy (or at least what I thought was the roof of the academy), setting me back down on my feet. He took down the hood of my aqua hoody and ruffled my white hair affectionately.

"Anything for my cute niece." I smiled a small smile up at him, and he seemed shocked. Much like Yuuya, he was still unused to seeing me smile. In fact, I found myself liking the sensations that came with its sincerity. Gaara was the one who told me he liked my smile, so now I try to smile all the time to make him smile back. "But I think I should bring you to your homeroom just so that Yuuya won't hit me over the head for leaving you." And with that the moment ended. He was the annoying uncle all over again.

"Yuuya-san won't mind, I'm at the academy already!" How embarrassing would that be? Having someone drop you off at your homeroom? It was not the best start. I didn't care very much for what people thought of me, but weak was one thing I hated to be thought of. Horrible, cold, distant, stupid, anything, for me, was better than weak. "Don't you have any missions to take care of?"

"Okay, okay, I'm going." Shou answered, raising his hand. "Good luck kiddo."

He jumped to the nearest roof once again, allowing me to jump down to the ground nearest to the academy doors. Entering, there was nothing particularly special. The clay halls, the many classrooms, the students that were running around and shrieking like banshees in excitement. How I wished that I was back on that rooftop with Gaara, watching the flower shaped clouds that passed through the blue sky. The soft breeze was better than the air-conditioned cold. The open space was better than the confined classroom.

Taking my seat (choosing to take the three seater in the front-center of the classroom), I took out a book that I had borrowed from the library titled: "The Curse of the Mist". I had hoped that it would give me insight into the world of the many shinobis that came from my home country, but it seemed to be nothing more than tragic deaths of amazing ninjas and the tales of how they were excellent ninjas. I, at first, wanted to return it immediately, but I suddenly found myself relating to the tales of pain. It was depressing, yes, but it was reality. It also offered details on techniques that I couldn't find in other books too, so the effort was not as futile as I thought.

"See, I told you that I wasn't lying!" The exclamation made me tear my gaze away from my book. Anyone within a good ten mile radius would have probably gotten distracted. "She always has her nose stuck in a book when I see her!" There was girl and a boy standing in front of me. They were both my age, but the boy seemed a bit too tall for our age. I got a little jealous.

The girl wore a green, sleeveless, turtle neck with a pair of black shorts. She had fish nets on her arms and on her shins, finishing everything off with a pair of toeless sandals. The boy, on the other hand, wore a purple long sleeved button up shirt, the collar sticking up and covering his neck. He had on a pair purple pants as well, the right pant leg ending on his knee while the other reached his ankle. The toeless shoes were on his feet as well. It was a bit odd to be scrutinized under their gaze, especially the boy who seemed to be examining me rather than looking at me. Why couldn't Gaara be here with me?

"Isn't she the girl who hangs out with Gaara?" The boy's coal eyes suddenly turned into a cold stare as he placed his pale hand on the desk and move his face near mine. "The girl that Yuuya-sensei adopted." He continued, his equally charcoal hair falling to cover his forehead. The way he looked at me reminded me so much of the orphanage. The judgment, the coldness.

Suddenly, the girl behind him whacked the pale boy over the head.

"Don't scare her you lunatic!" She rolled her green eyes as the boy now directed his glare in her direction. She smiled at me though, twisting a strand of her raven locks in her flesh finger. "Sorry about him," She suddenly stated, moving over and taking the seat beside me. The pale boy grumbled, but took the seat beside her as well. We basically completed the three seater now. "He is way too serious for his own good." The pale boy continued to glare at her, and I wondered how she could stand being under those eyes that were as dark as the night sky.

I had no idea how to respond. This green eyed girl reminded me so much of my nice roommate. She was cheery, happy-go-lucky, and nice. "Is she mute?" The pale boy asked, and this time this earned him an elbow to the stomach. He groaned in pain, clutching the sore area and leaning his head on the table.

"Will you shut up?!" She exclaimed, the other children in the room now turning to us. "You're acting like a jerk and all because she hangs out with Gaara?!" I remembered the day I met Gaara. He was so alone, so lonely, and to this day I still had no idea why. He was the Kazekage's son, right? Why was he detested? The whispers in the room and the eyes the judged me all made me feel uncomfortable. The girl seemed un-phased by the occurrence, but the boy just continued to curse her under his breath.

"She must be stupid, why does she hangout with that demon?"

"Maybe she does it so that no one would mess with her."

"I bet that she's just using him to get to get popular or something."

The whispers were all the same. I did not pay them any mind though, for none of them knew Gaara. None of them knew me either. They were all making their own reason, but none seemed to think that I sincerely wanted to be Gaara's friend just for his sake. Already I was gaining a bad reputation, but the only thought going through my head was what **had **happened to cause him to be hated like this.

"Oh! How rude of me!" The girl beside me suddenly exclaimed again. She sure knew how to be the center of attention. "My name is Erika Sakakibara, but you can just call me Erika." Her smile was wide as she extended her hand, and I found myself smiling back. She really did remind me of the roommate of mine.

"Mei Yuki," I answer her, taking her hand. "I remember you from the library the other day." I add, recognition suddenly popping. She was sitting beside me as I read a book on the Yuki clan where my mother had originally come from. Erika nodded her head and released my hand once again.

"Glad that you do!" She answered, suddenly pointing to the pale boy she had hit earlier. "This ball of sunshine, on the other hand, is Saiki Suoh. He's usually not that bad, but he has the tendency to act like a total bastard when he wants to." Again he glared at her, and I assumed that they must have been close friends if she really was non-responsive to that look that made me shake.

"What the heck is Erika doing?!"

"Why is she befriending that freak?"

"Poor Saiki, getting dragged into her mess."

The whispers continued, and I realized that apparently I was now labeled much like Gaara. Again, I did not particularly care. I knew well that you only ever needed one person to care for you, to acknowledge your existence in this world. My brother taught me that one precious person was all it took for you to be happy, to live, to not cast your life away as something that was useless. If you could make one person happy, then life was worth living just to make that person smile. I agreed with him whole heartedly.

"So, Shiro-Mei," I wasn't sure if the nickname was an insult or a compliment, but I said nothing. "You're from Mizu, right? How did Yuuya-sempai find you all the way there?" Erika didn't judge me at all, and much like to Gaara, I found myself relaxing in her presence. I was slightly beginning to fade away into a place where it was just her and me. No judgmental eyes.

"He told me that he wanted to help a kid and be a dad." I answered her, smiling at the memory of my first meeting with him. "I didn't even understand why he chose me. I was always alone and I barely talked. He always said there was just something that drew him to me, but I think that he just pitied me." I suddenly felt rather sorry for Saiki when Erika suddenly whacked me over the head. The pain shocked me.

"I'm sure he chose you cause you were always alone. Helping out a happy kid is stupid, don't you think?" I rubbed the back of my head as I smiled once again. She was right, probably. "I mean, there's no way that you can make a kid happy if they're already happy, sad kids on the other hand have much more reason to be adopted." Her opinion was rather biased, but her logic was sound. I would be wary with what I say around Erika though. She seemed to be the type to hurt you to get the point she was trying to make stuck into your head.

"Or maybe she forced him to take her and she's lying to you." This comment earned Saiki a kick in the shin. Again he groaned in pain and slumped in his seat.

"Seriously, don't mind him." Erika stated. "He probably just got scolded for wetting his bed again." Saiki was about to speak and defend himself from the obvious lie, but again Erika elbowed him to shut up. I found myself laughing at the bond between the two. If he wasn't fighting back, then they were rather close weren't they?

"You're weird, Erika." I said, deciding to use the exact same words Gaara told me. "But I like you."

* * *

"Okay, you're all dismissed for the day." Naomi, our homeroom teacher, stated. She closed the book she was reading to us (it depicted the stories of the first, second, third, and fourth Kazekage), and smiled as all of us began to pack up and chat with our friends. Erika and I had managed to form a friendship of our own, laughing together when we shared a joke about something Naomi had said, passing notes during discussions to stay awake. Saiki didn't really warm up to me, but I did laugh when Erika repeatedly hit him due to his rude words. I pitied him, but in the back of my mind I felt happy that someone was sticking up for me.

When we exited the building, I spotted Gaara standing in front of the fence. His face was filled with worry as he scanned the crowd, and I wondered if he was looking for me. "Gaara-kun!" I suddenly found myself exclaiming, waving my hand as I smiled widely when he spotted me and waved back. I missed him throughout the day, and I found myself searching for his companionship though Erika was there. Spending everyday with someone does that to you. The smile he gave me in return made me all the more happy too.

I turned away from him for awhile, turning to Erika. "Erika, I have to go." I say, smiling as she gave me one. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" She told me, and I nodded my head as I sent Saiki a small wave in respect. When my eyes returned to Gaara, however, there was something off. The worried look was back in his eyes, and I even managed to sense fear in his eyes as well. They weren't empty and neglected like before, but these eyes didn't make me feel good. They made my guts twist and turn like a bad feeling.

When our eyes met once again, he must have noticed my worry as he shook his head and smiled. He waved me over, and I obliged and ran towards him. "Is something wrong?" I asked almost immediately, taking his hand, a sign of comfort and security, as we began to walk towards our special place. We seemed to be spending most of our time on the rooftop lately.

"It's nothing…" He answered, but he was not even trying to be convincing. His voice wavered, his eyes didn't meet mine, he seemed to be dragging his feet. I knew it wasn't the gourd behind his back either, for I knew that to him it was practically weightless. It was comforting, though, to see the snowflake charm I had given him still hanging near the cover. "…just stupid thoughts."

"I don't think it's stupid if it bothers you." I answered honestly, frowning as he suddenly looked at me in surprise. "You're my friend, I don't like you being so down. I'm your friend too, right?" He nodded almost immediately. "Then you can trust me with your problems. Don't worry, I'll help you carry your burdens. Count on it." I gave him a small smile in reassurance, and he seemed to relax as his hand tightened around my own. I was practically half expecting Yashamaru to jump out and begin teasing us again. He had been relentless ever since the incident in the street when Gaara had begun training with his father once again.

"Maybe I'll tell you another time." I frowned again, but I allowed him to evade it. Pushing wouldn't do any of us any good, and I did not want him angry at me. "How was the academy? My older brother and older sister go there, but they don't really tell **me** anything about it."

I was just about to use the fire escape to get to the rooftop, but Gaara tugged my hand and shook his head. "I wanna show you something." He stated, and I was confused. He lead my towards the back of the building, and when he checked and saw that no one was around, he let go of my hand and wrapped my arms around his neck. I felt heat rush to my face, he was way too close and I wasn't used to it. "Hold on." He warned.

"What—AHH!" Gaara laughed as the sand suddenly began to gather under our feet and raise us slowly towards the roof. I clung onto Gaara for dear life, seemed like Shou wasn't the only one who was a bit affected by heights. It was a weird sensation. The sand felt so solid under my feet, it didn't feel like the sand in the desert. "How are you doing this?" I asked, amazed as I loosened my grip.

"I've just been always been able to." He answered.

When we were both safe on the rooftop, I watched as the sand retreated back into the gourd. "The sand is like my friend." Gaara explained. "It doesn't allow me to get hurt, it helps me, a lot like what you do." Again heat began to travel to my face, and I heard him chuckle at my embarrassment. "You're so red Mei-chan!" He chanted, and I pouted. He was teasing me too.

I turned around and stomped towards the edge of the building to take my usual spot. Gaara continued to chuckle as he followed, and though I was happy he didn't seem to be all that worried anymore, I wasn't quite glad that it was in my expense. "You and Erika sure do love to tease me." I stated as Gaara took a seat beside me. I noticed him stiffen as I mentioned my new friend.

"Who's Erika?" He asked, turning towards me, that look back once again. Was that the problem? Erika? "Was she the girl you were talking to earlier?" Gaara continued, his voice gradually getting louder.

"She's a new friend I made today." I answered, warily, trying to calm Gaara down. As I answered though, it seemed to tick him off further. His hands suddenly found themselves on my shoulders, his grip was hard. The sand suddenly began to leak from the gourd once again, and this time the particles suddenly began to wrap around my waist. I felt fear, for the first time, suddenly spread across me entirely as Gaara stared at me with those wild and scared eyes. This was not the soft boy I knew. This was the neglected kid that I first met.

"NO!" He exclaimed. "You're my friend!" His grip got tighter, the sand was reaching my neck. "You can't be friends with them! They'll make you leave me! I don't want to be alone! You told me you were **my **friend!" The sand was slowly rising now, nearing my chin as his hands remained on my shoulders with a grip that rivaled those of my father's. The fear doubled.

"Ga—Gaara-kun…" I tried to say, the sand spreading to my arms as I tried to move my hand. It was still hard for me to mold ice without water already being present. My chakra control was still too weak, but I tried my best to release as much as I needed. The red head in front of me was not listening as he continued to utter words of anger, sadness, and fear. "St—stop plea…se"

"You are mine, Mei-chan!" Gaara still wasn't listening, and I highly doubted that he could hear my words. The sand was near my wrist and was already covering parts of face. I had one chance to snap him out of this, and I was worried about the consequences that would come if something bad happened to me and he regained his consciousness again. "My friend, you're my friend!" Mustering all my strength, I tried my best to raise my hand even with the heavy sand.

The ice kunai that I had managed to mold wasn't as big as a regular kunai, and it wasn't as sharp. "I'm…so so—sorry." I manage to let out, before raising my hand and trying my best to put a small scratch on his hand on my shoulder. I hoped that it would wake him up due to pain response, but it was useless. More sand came from the gourd and suddenly defended him, my ice kunai being unable to penetrate it.

"No! No! You're trying to hurt me!" **It wasn't like that!** I wanted to scream at him. I just wanted him to return to normal, so that I could comfort him and tell him that it would be okay. I'd be his friend first and I'd never talk to Erika again if he wanted me to. Gaara, to me, was the one precious person that my brother was talking about. The one I wanted to make happy with me efforts. My best friend.

The sand was now nearly suffocating me as it covered my mouth and my forehead. My left arm was fully covered as well, and my right would be soon too. Hoping that this would wake him up, I took a leap of faith. I raised my hand slightly, and stabbed the ice kunai right into my thigh.

Pain was what I felt as the blood dripped. The sand ceased his movement and when I looked up at Gaara, I saw his eyes flash with recognition. The sand retreated as he stared at my wound, hand over his mouth as tears suddenly began to fall from his eyes. "I'm sorry, this is my fault, I'm a monster, I shouldn't—"

I smiled at him as I placed my hand on his thigh. "No—not your…fault." I managed to let out. "I un—understand…not mad." Exhaustion, blood loss, pain, all of it was probably too much for my six-year-old body. The next thing I knew, I fell forward into Gaara and the world went black.

* * *

**~THE ALL IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE~**

**So, a bit of drama in this chapter huh? I'll get to explaining in a bit, but first I wanted to say something. I introduced two new Original Characters, right? Erika and Saiki? Well, I wonder if you can guess who ISN'T an Original Character. You see, it's pretty obvious if you think about it. I wonder if you'll all catch on to what I'm saying. Anyways, on to the explanations!**

**First, about Gaara's sudden little outbreak. Well, as always, I'm just going to say that he is emotionally unstable. Wouldn't you panic too if the one friend you had could leave you? Plus, we have to understand that Gaara does have very violent tendencies throughout his childhood. Just because he makes a friend doesn't mean they go away after all. The constant fear of losing said person is incomparable.**

**Second, THE BIG BROTHER HAS BEEN REVEALED! Yep, it was so obvious right? So yes, her big brother is Haku! Don't worry, don't worry, this doesn't connect with the Naruto timeline just yet. If you read my message in the previous chapter, their travels to Konoha still start at the Chuunin Examination Arc. Aside from that, I'm not spoiling anything else. I'll let you think how this will affect her, especially since we all know what happens to Haku.**

**FINALLY, in the flashback, the seen in the anime where Haku's mother slapped him was the inspiration for that if you don't get it.**

**Expect not so frequent updates, by the way. I have a weird schedule and other stories I have to attend to. **

**Now that has all been said and done, I just have three messages for you dear reader.**

**1. I apologize for this amazingly long Author's Note, but I just needed that to be out there.  
2. ****I apologize for any grammatical errors, I don't have a BETA and only proofread my own work.  
3. ****Please review your thoughts. Questions are accepted and will be answered if possible.**

**~*..*~*..*~Reignstein~*..*~*..*~**


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